Time Changes
by twiXlite
Summary: Edward is the geek of Forks High. Favourite plaything of the 'populars' especially Bella Swan. When his family moves away and on their return to Forks Edward is not the same geeky boy who left. And the 'populars' have met their match with the new Edward.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Me? Not Stephenie Meyer. Meaning I don't own.**

**I wrote this story for synapsegirl for the Support Stacie Auction and she has given me permission to publish it publicly for all of you to read. I hope you like it.**

_**Short summary:**_

Edward Cullen is the Geek Boy of Forks High School. The ultimate outcase. Because of his glasses, less than perfect skin and booksmart ways, he is the prime target for the 'Populars' and a favourite victim for the Queen Bee, Isabella Swan. When Edward's father receives an invitation to become Head of Cardiology at Chicago Hospital, the family move away. Something that Edward never thought would happen. Two years later, Forks Hospital receives its own Cardiology Ward, and guess whose asked to run it. Carlisle Cullen. When the Cullens' move back in time for the start of Edward's Senior Year, how will the school receive him? Will they still see him as the pathetic little geek they used to love to terrorise? Or will they see him for what they've become? And how will Edward react to being back in Forks? Will he still be the shy bookworm he always was? Or will this Edward give as good as he gets?  


_**12**__**th**__** September 2007**_

_**Edward.**_

I felt my cheeks flush, yet again, as I stood up. _I really hate gym._ I grumbled internally. I wasn't the most co-ordinated of people and the jocks just loved to play that up.

Well, saying I wasn't the most co-ordinated of people was a bit – okay, a lot – of an understatement. I couldn't walk across a flat surface without tripping even a little. I had had balance problems ever since I was a child. My mother had always told me that I would grow out of it. I never did.

I pushed my glasses back up my nose, groaning as I stood up, not wanting to go back to the game.

I turned around and saw who it was that had hit me with the damned basketball. He was standing there, twirling it on his finger, grinning like the jock he was.

Emmett McCarty.

He was one of the 'Populars' as those at school called them. The group consisted of six members and even though they were only just starting sophomore year, they 'ruled the school' as so many people called it. There was Emmett McCarty. About six foot humungous, with dark, almost black hair and blue eyes. He was the star quarterback of the Forks High Spartans football team, and pretty much a school hero. It was because of him that the team won every game they played.

His girlfriend was Rosalie Hale. Tall, blonde with one of the bitchiest attitudes I'd ever seen on . . . well, anyone. She was the Ice Queen of Forks High. Everyone knew that Rosalie Hale was off limits to everyone except Emmett. If he even suspected that anyone was day dreaming about her in any kind of way, they quickly became a eunuch. On the cheerleading squad, it was clear that she was out of the league of every male on the campus that wasn't Emmett McCarty.

Then there was Jasper Hale, Rosalie's twin brother. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as his sister, but his attitude and demeanour was completely different. Whereas Rosalie was cruel and snarky to everyone she deemed below her, which was everyone, save a few, Jasper was cool and collected, rarely talking to anyone other than those in their group. He still held the air of superiority about him, like they all did. If he didn't, then I think he might have been a decent guy. As it was, he, like the rest of them, was an asshole.

His girlfriend was Alice Brandon. Small, peppy, a cheerleader, as you'd expect with her constant energy. She was the only one of the group that would actually talk _to_ rather than _at_ other people. She was the only one that seemed to no qualms about talking to the rest of the school. She had spoken to me once, and she hadn't made me feel like a total loser. Unlike the rest of them.

Next came Jacob Black. He too was on the football team with Emmett. Second best player, or so I'd heard. I didn't really like football, or any other kind of sport, so I didn't pay attention to it. He was huge, like Emmett and the two of them together made an intimidating duo. Hell, they were intimidating on their own, let alone together. His hair and eyes were almost pitch black and the only time he seemed to relax was when he was with that group and his girlfriend, the bane of my existence.

Isabella Swan.

Even though she was just starting sophomore year, it was clear that she was lead contender for head cheerleader. And she _hated_ me. I had no idea why. I hadn't done anything to her. Ever. We had been in the same class together since kindergarten and I had no clue why she suddenly started hating on me. We hadn't even said two words to each other in all those years.

Maybe it was because I didn't conform to her view of a beautiful, perfect person. Maybe because I had a higher GPA than she did. I didn't know. Maybe it was because I wore glasses. Maybe it was because I didn't have perfectly smooth skin. How was I supposed to know what her problem was? I might have been smarter than average, my IQ ridiculously high, but hey, I wasn't a mind reader.

As you may have guessed by now, I am a geek. Resident geek of Forks High. Hell, I even had a geeky name. Edward. Who the hell calls their kid Edward anymore? Wait, that's right. My parents. Esme and Carlisle. They didn't seem to mind that my name was over a hundred years out of date.

Not much I can do about it now, is there.

I wasn't just a geek though, oh no! I was the favourite playtoy of Isabella Swan. Nothing made her day more than humiliating me. I had grown used to it by now. I was used to the endless laughter and snickering that followed me around the halls. I avoided the cafeteria as much as I could and if I went in there I made sure never to go near their table. I usually ate my lunch sitting under one of the trees near the playing field, out of the way of everyone else, reading or getting started on my homework. Told you I was a geek.

I was tall, lanky and uncoordinated. I didn't have that much muscle, seeing as, unlike the rest of the guys here at school, the only sport I was involved in was the compulsory gym classes. In my world, I didn't really need muscle. The only muscle I really needed was that grey matter inside my head. Physical strength wanes, but the strength of the mind lasts infinitely.

_One more day, Edward._ I told myself as the coach called me to sit on the bench as Emmett and Jacob snickered, banging their fists together. _You're leaving tomorrow. You can handle one more day._

Thank God, I was getting out of here. I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

My father had just received an invitation to become Head of Cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. When he told me that we were moving I had to physically stop myself from leaping on him and hugging him to within an inch of his life. I had never been so happy in my whole life.

No one here knew that I was leaving. If they did then it would only make it worse for me today, seeing as they would know it was their last chance to torture me. At least I knew that it would be the same as every other day today.

After I'd changed after gym, I had English with the Queen Bee herself. She sat right behind me, which was just another addition to my already crappy life. Why couldn't she have been placed at the back of the class? Why wouldn't we have been seated in alphabetical? Because the teacher hates me. I think it was because I'd corrected her about something in Shakespeare's sonnet _'Shall I Compare Thee'._ She didn't like me much after that.

As I sat down, I heard Isabella and one of her friends Jessica giggling behind me. Just as they always did.

"So, Edward." I heard her deep, sultry voice call from behind me. I didn't respond, knowing that she'd just be winding me up as per usual. She was doing it to get a rise out of me. She never did. Maybe that was why she'd constantly been going after me for the last three years. "Um, I was just wondering, why you didn't send me a postcard."

_What? What was she talking about?_

"I heard that was some trip you had." She continued, her voice completely serious as she spoke. "It sounded like fun. Maybe next time you take one, you could take me. I mean, I haven't had a good meeting with the floor since . . . oh, I don't know, I can't remember." Jessica sat there giggling behind her. The teacher didn't look up from her papers as Isabella continued to make fun of me. This was her being mild in her taunts. "In all honesty, I know you went away over the summer, and I was wondering . . . did you finally _lose it_? I know you turned sixteen, so mommy and daddy can't do anything. Come on, _Eddie_, you can tell me. I won't make fun."

_Yeah right._ She was right about my going away over the summer, but that was it. If you hadn't gathered by now, I'm still a virgin, and I wasn't about to change that status just to be a sheep to some crowd I hated more than anything else in the world.

I pushed my chair out, grabbing my books, folder and bag before quickly leaving the room, to the wide eyed stares of the students and the teacher calling my name telling me to sit back down. I had half an hour left stuck in this hellhole and I didn't really feel like staying here for them.

I made my way through the deserted hallways towards my locker, pulling out all the books and stuff I had in there, piling it all into my bag, slamming it closed before making my way towards the parking lot.

With my luck being what it was, I turned the corner and saw Emmett and Jacob leaning against their lockers. Of course they'd be skipping. They never went to their classes, but their parents paid for their consistent GPAs, I was sure of that.

"Well, well, well." Jacob chuckled stepping away from the locker. "What have we here? Little Eddie Cullen is skipping class."

"Well, I don't believe my fucking eyes." Emmett grinned, flicking the football in his hand in the air before catching it again. I didn't look at either of them as I made my way down the corridor. Before I realised what was happening, I was aware that my feet were no longer underneath me as I fell to the floor, hitting my head and knocking my glasses off. "Where you going, Eddie?" I heard Emmett's mocking voice call as I pushed myself up, groping around for my glasses.

Sliding them back on my nose, I was able to see again, grabbing my bags and climbing to my feet, walking away from Emmett and Jacob before they did something else to me. I was running. Again.

"See you tomorrow, Eddie." Jacob called, laughing loudly with Emmett and I could just imagine the two of them standing there, bumping fists as they normally did. It was quite pathetic the way they behaved actually.

"No." I said softly, making my way through the doors at the end of the corridor. "You won't."

I quickly made my way to my car, my Volvo S60R and climbed in. I had been so lucky when my dad had taken me to take my drivers' test and he had bought me this car as a congratulations when I'd passed. I quickly reversed out of the parking lot at the school and made my way home, smiling at the thought of leaving this damned place tomorrow morning.

I could see my mother standing outside watching my father load up the rest of the things we would be taking into the trunk of his black Mercedes. Everything else in the house, save a few provisional's had been sent with the movers three days ago. With any luck, they would be arriving in Chicago at some point tomorrow afternoon, right when our plane touched down. How my parents were planning on getting our cars there, I didn't know. All I know is that a Mercedes and a Volvo were not going to be too easy to ship. My father didn't want to part with his car, and he had some things to finish up at the hospital so he would be driving out in a few days time. For the first few days it was just going to be me and my mom.

"Edward." Her voice was startled, not expecting me home so early. She walked down the steps that led up to the house and wrapped her arms around me. "What are you doing home so early?"

"I just . . . wanted out of there as soon as possible." I admitted, knowing that she'd see straight through any lie I'd concoct. There was no point with my mother. "It's not like they can give me a detention for cutting, is it?"

"I guess not." She sighed, running a hand through my hair, smiling softly at me. "Right." She turned to face my dad as he made his way over to us. "Is everything you need packed away?" He nodded and she grinned. "Well, seeing as I have nothing to cook on, why don't we go out for dinner?"

"Mom, I really . . ." I didn't want to sound rude, especially when it concerned my mother, but I really didn't want to go out.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She pressed the back of her hand to my head and I pushed her away gently.

"I'm fine." I told her and I could tell that she didn't believe me. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long day. You two go out, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure honey?" She asked, her eyes slightly worried. I swear, she worried for no reason.

"I'm sure." I confirmed, nodding once. "I'll order a pizza or something, okay." I could tell that she was no appeased. "All I want to do is go to sleep right now, Mom. Even though my bed is probably passing somewhere through South Dakota or Nebraska. Depending on what route they took, I'm going to have to settle for the air bed, again."

"I know it's not ideal honey, but it's only until tomorrow." She said squeezing my shoulder and I nodded. "Did you say goodbye to everyone at school today?"

I scoffed at her assumption that I had friends. "No."

"Why not?" She asked, her eyes hurt. I wonder if it was the tone I had used, or the fact that she had to accept that her son was the pathetic geek at school.

"Because nobody cares." I told her honestly. "Mom, I don't have any friends. You know that. The only thing that would have come of me telling them that I'm leaving would be even more hell today than normal."

"I know, sweetheart. I know." She pulled me into a hug, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I spent that night as I said I would. I ordered a pizza and flaked out on the tiny airbed I had in my room, replacing my bed. I couldn't wait to get back into it tomorrow. I would finally not be waking up with a stiff back and sore limbs. I hated airbeds, if only for that reason. They were the most uncomfortable creation that anyone has had the audacity to think anyone can sleep on.

Ridiculous.

I awoke to my mom calling me downstairs for breakfast, so after showering, getting dressed and rolling up the godforsaken airbed, making sure I'd left nothing in my room, I closed the door one final time and made my way downstairs, depositing the back destroyer with my mothers. They couldn't find the double one they had, so they had pushed two singles together for the time being.

"How are you this morning?" My mom asked, her smile bright as she pushed a plate of pancakes towards me. A paper plate mind you. Everything we were using could be thrown away. Saved her packing things that we didn't have to at the end of the day. At least that was her reasoning. I wasn't sure if I bought it or not.

"I'm good." I nodded, eating the pancakes quickly. I saw that it was already ten o'clock by the watch on my wrist that I had just flung on this morning, which mean that we had five hours to get to Seattle and check in before our flight left. My dad would be taking us to the airport, seeing as we weren't taking our cars and he wanted to say goodbye to us both before we left.

Just under five hours later we were sitting in Seattle Tacoma International Airport, waiting for our flight to be called.

"Hey." My dad called me over before whispering into my ear, low so that my mom, who was busy looking up at the boards listing the different flights. "Look after her while I'm still here, okay?" He looked at me sternly and I nodded my head.

"Of course I will, Dad." I promised him and he nodded, pulling me into a brief hug before moving on to say goodbye to my mother.

They embraced gently, saying goodbye as though it would be the last time they would see each other for months or years. It was only a week or so ten days at the most, but when you're that in love with someone – as in love as my parents still were – it didn't matter whether it was days, weeks, months or even minutes. I knew that my mom would miss my dad as soon as we went through the boarding gate.

I had to call my mom when they called our flight to board and seeing as we were first class – only the best for the Cullens' right? – we were boarding first. "Mom." I called again as she clung to my dad. "We have to go. They're calling our flight." She nodded, eventually letting go of Carlisle and following me through the gate handing the attendant our passports and boarding passes.

As soon as we were in the air, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I was free of Washington. I was free of Forks. I was free of everything that had happened to me there.

I could become a new Edward Cullen.

And I was going to become a new Edward Cullen. I wasn't going to be the geeky boy that everyone picks on anymore. I wasn't going to be the one that everyone finds amusing to prank when they're bored. I'm not going to be a target anymore. I promised myself that I would stand up for myself in Chicago. I would do what I had failed to do in Forks.

I had asked my mom if I could swap my glasses for contacts, which she had enthusiastically agreed to, because she said that the glasses dimmed my 'beautiful eyes' as she called them. I didn't see what was so great about them to be honest. They were just green. And I had also plucked up the courage to ask if she knew of anything that would help with my acne. Thankfully she did and I could start using it when we got to our new house tonight. It was a deep cleansing exfoliating wash thing that I had to use every morning and every night. Apparently it was designed specifically for teenage acne, so hopefully it would work, because hell, nothing else seemed to. She seemed confident about it, so I didn't really have a reason to doubt her, right?

I turned and looked out the window as the clouds passed by underneath us. Every so often I could see a sliver of land, but not really enough to judge where we might be. All I knew was that I was travelling far away from the nightmare that had been the town I'd grown up in.

Feeling someone's gentle hand on my shoulder, shaking me softly. I opened my eyes to see my mom smiling back at me.

"We're here, honey." She said softly and I sat up, rubbing my eyes underneath my glasses, nearly causing them to fall off my nose, before I stood up, following the other passengers off the plane.

As we walked out the main doors of the airport, I saw my mom looking around for the car service that my dad had organised to pick us up and take us to our new house. I looked around, gently nudging my mom when I noticed some grumpy looking dude standing outside, by a black car with the nameplate '_Cullen'_ out in front of him. We walked over to him and he opened the door for us, the grumpy look not leaving his face as we thanked him and climbed into the car. What was his problem?

I rested my head on the back seat of the car, sighing as I watched the city pass by the window, smiling to myself. This is where I could start over.

A few minutes later, we pulled up outside an extravagant looking townhouse, that had to be at least the size of our old house back in Forks. How that was possible, I wasn't sure, seeing as Forks was in the middle of nowhere and this house was in the middle of a city.

"It was originally two houses." My mom explained walked up onto the sidewalk beside me. "But one of the owners in the early nineteen hundreds, bought both houses and knocked them into one, creating more room. That's why the house is so big."

"So it's twice the size of the other houses here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her and she nodded. _Sweet._

I followed her up the steps to the house, following her as she walked through the door, closing it firmly behind her. It looked as though the movers had been and gone, leaving the keys that my parents had given them on the island in the kitchen. From the looks of things, everything that been put in the respective rooms, which meant that nothing would really need switching around. I walked up the stairs, nothing that the doors had different signs on them. _'Carlisle's Office,' 'Master Bedroom', 'Edward's Bedroom'. _I made my way into the room marked as mine, sighing in relief when I'd seen that they'd put my bed together. I didn't care about anything else. All that mattered to me was the fact that I had a bed. I flopped down on it, kicking off my shoes, not caring whether or not it was made, just revelling in the feel of a mattress underneath me, closing my eyes.

When I woke up, my eyes were assaulted by light coming in my room from the east. I blinked a couple of times, sitting up, remembering the day yesterday. Getting on the plane and in the car, driving through the city and walking into the house. Finding my bed. And the best part of the whole thing.

Leaving Forks.

I was so glad to get out of that place it wasn't even funny.

I got off of the bed and stretched, making my way over to the boxes that were marked _'Edward's Room'_ trying to judge by kicking them what was in them. All I wanted was a pair of sweats and a new t-shirt as I wasn't going to be going anywhere today. Today would consist of unpacking, unpacking and oh yeah, unpacking. Dad was lucky. He didn't have to do this.

I eventually found a box that contained some of my clothes and I pulled out a pair of grey seats and a black t-shirt, and pulled them on, knocking off my glasses in the meantime.

Slipping my glasses back on, I looked down into a box that I had opened already, noticing that it had the unopened boxes of contacts lying at the top, as well as that wash, scrub stuff my mom had given me.

Deciding that because I was now in Chicago, I was going to start things off straight. I walked into my en suite and stood in front of the mirror, taking in my appearance. I knew why people in Forks chose me to be the butt of all their jokes. I mean look at me. I was skinny, not overly tall, probably about five seven or something like that. I wore glasses, was covered in spots and I used to have braces. Thankfully I'd gotten rid of them two years ago and now had brilliant straight teeth to show for it.

I followed the instructions on the bottle, doing what it said for the first time use. I would have to work it into some sort of mask thing and leave it on for ten minutes before washing it off. Apparently, that allowed it to work into the pores or something. I didn't understand. I just followed the instructions.

Holy crap, did it sting!!

I managed to not wash it off before the ten minutes was up, even though it felt like my face was on fire and my skin was slightly inflamed. Maybe I'd had a reaction to it or something. I would ask my mom when I went downstairs.

Now it was for the real test of courage. I didn't know how to use contacts. I'd never used them before so I was pretty damn nervous about putting them in.

Opening the box, I took the contact out of the small container it was in, balancing it on my finger gently, holding my eyelids apart, and hoping for the best really.

It took the better part of half an hour, but I finally got them in. They didn't feel as uncomfortable as I thought they would. In fact, I didn't really notice them once I got over the whole 'I'm shoving something into my freaking eye' factor.

I made my way downstairs, looking for my mom and found her, of course, in the kitchen. She turned around, holding a frying pan which was filled with scrambled eggs, made exactly how I liked them.

"Morning, dear." She smiled at me, freezing when she saw I wasn't wearing my glasses. "Are you wearing your new contacts?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she put the pan down. I nodded, silently and she grinned at me, making her way over and placing a hand on either side of my face. "Now you can see your beautiful eyes." She cooed, her thumb running gently over my cheek. "And your skin is softer, too. Did you use the scrub wash I gave you?"

"Yeah." I nodded as she moved away from me and pushed the plate of food towards me. "But it really hurt."

"Oh, it does the first use." She waved me off as though I was complaining about nothing. "It'll continue to sting for the next few uses, but not as much. It's cleaning out your pores, getting all the dirt out of them. You'll have clear skin in no time." She smiled at me sadly, probably wondering why I was changing myself now.

"What?" I asked her, placing my fork on my plate as she sighed.

"I'm just wondering why?" She sighed, resting her arms on the table in front of her.

"Let me guess." I took another mouthful, swallowing quickly before continuing. "Why I'm suddenly bothered about the glasses and everything else?" She nodded. "Because . . . I don't want to be that kid anymore, Mom. I don't want to be the kid everyone picks on. I don't want to be the kid everyone laughs at. I just . . . I want to be someone different."

"I know, baby." She placed her hand on my cheek again, running her thumb back and forth over my cheek, slowly.

As she cleared everything away, I looked out the window into the street below. We were in a new place, with new people. Nobody had to know anything about who I was in Forks. Nobody had to know anything about the geeky Edward Cullen that had lived in the middle of nowhere. All the people here had to know about me was what I told them.

This was a chance for me to change who I was. And I was definitely going to take that chance.

_**So what do you think?**_

_**I know it's not that long, but that was where it ended naturally.**_

_**I have chapter 2 almost done if you like it.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Again. Don't own squat. :(**

**Chapter 2 for you. This ones a little - well, a lot longer. I hope you don't mind. It skips forward a bit in time, but it'll all be revisited as I progress.**

**I hope you like it.**

**4****th**** September 2009**

_**Edward**_

I slammed my fist down on the wretched alarm clock that my mom had obviously put in my room after I'd gone to sleep last night. She knew that I needed to wake up and that that monstrosity would do it. I smirked to myself, thinking I heard the cracking of the plastic of the wretched thing that disturbed the peaceful abyss of sleep.

I rolled over, looking out of my window, thankful that it wasn't raining this morning. I clicked the ball of my tongue ring against my teeth loudly, hating the turn of events that had happened over the summer.

Because of my father's work I was back in the place I hated the most.

Yep, fucking Forks, Washington. Rainiest shitheap in the continental US. Fucking great.

I rolled out of bed, placing my bare feet on the thick plush carpet that ran throughout my room. My mom and dad hadn't sold our old house in Forks, just closed it up. Apparently, they had a feeling that they would be moving back here at some point in their lives and they didn't want to risk losing the property. Apparently they had a service that came in and gave it a quick cleaning once a month, making sure that it was still suitable for habitation should they decide to come back.

And come back we fucking did.

They told me that my dad had received a call at the beginning of May, from Forks Hospital, practically begging him to come back and run their new Cardiology ward. He had discussed it with my mom and she had jumped at the idea of moving back to the sleepy little town she loved so dearly.

So here we fucking were.

Back here again.

They didn't even ask me what I thought of the whole thing. They just sprung it on me one day. To say I was pissed was an understatement. I didn't talk to them for the two weeks because I was so pissed. They knew how much I hated this place and how much I loved Chicago. I actually had friends there.

I didn't have any in Forks.

But then again, it wasn't like I was the same person I was when I left. Long gone was geeky Edward Cullen, sporting glasses and a face like a dot-to-dot for little kids. I had grown to about six foot two – or at least I was when my dad had last measured my height – and I had some pretty decent muscles now. I could certainly hold my own in a fight. The martial arts lessons had been useful in helping my coordination and balance as well as increasing my muscle mass and stamina. Of course the free gym for students in the school I had attended didn't hurt either. Now I had to find a new one to go to. Fun times.

If I guessed correctly, the students of Forks High wouldn't recognise me at all.

I stripped off and climbed into the shower, turning the heat up high as I let the water wash over my body, hissing slightly as I felt the burn of the hot water against the raw skin of the new tattoo I'd had finished before leaving Chicago.

Apparently, without the glasses and the spots and whatever, I look older than I actually am, so as soon as I was able, I've been getting inked, enjoying the way it felt having the needle pass over my skin, watching them complete the design I had worked on with them, loving seeing it imprinted forever on my skin, and never once being asked for ID. Not in that two years. I had a sneaking suspicion they knew I was underage, but I guess it was a 'you don't look under eighteen, so we'll let it slide' type of thing. I looked at the new tat on my shoulder, a red phoenix, starting on top of my left shoulder, sliding slightly onto my chest and curving down my arm before the tail ended, twisting around my shoulder. The one on my back had taken almost three months to complete. It was an enormous yin yang symbol, printed in the direct centre of my back with the traditional white tiger and silver dragon surrounding it. That had taken up the majority of my back and the rest was filled in with a background of the night sky, flowing up to my shoulders and down just below the waistband of my pants, ending just below my hips. It had hurt like a mother fucker and cost a fucking bomb, but damn was it worth it. Along with the musical stave that flowed from behind my left ear, around the back of my neck and twisted around the front of my right shoulder and around my arm stopping at my wrist. Teachers at school weren't too happy about that one, but whatever, they couldn't really do a damn thing about it, could they?

My parents weren't too happy that I was inking myself and piercing my flesh the way I was, but I provided the argument 'what would you prefer? That I do this or spend my money on something else, such as crack, coke or heroin?' That shut them up. I knew why they worried like they did, but there was no need.

I climbed out of the shower and towelled myself off, throwing the towel into the laundry hamper as I made my way over to my dresser, grabbing a pair of boxer briefs and sliding them on quickly.

I opened another drawer in my dresser, grabbing a pair of loose faded jeans and a plain black t-shirt. It's what I used to wear in school back in Chicago and if it was good enough for Chicago, it was good enough for Forks. I couldn't really be arsed to get dressy or whatever for the stuck up bitches here in Forks. Not that they had any reason to be other than that they were richer than others by a couple of bucks.

Throwing on a belt, because these jeans always liked to work their way down and show off half my ass, given the chance, pulling on some socks and grabbing my Chucks and leather jacket, I made my way downstairs to meet my mom in the kitchen.

"Good morning, honey." She smiled at me.

"Morning, Mom." I kissed her gently on the top of the head before taking my seat. Hey, you've gotta show your Momma some love in the morning. Hell, she feeds me.

"Are you nervous about going back to school?" She asked, setting a plate down in front of me, which I immediately tucked into.

"Not really." I shook my head, swallowing the mouthful of delicious blueberry pancakes she knew I loved.

"I'm glad to hear that." She ran a hand through my hair as I clicked my tongue against the viperbites on the right side of my bottom lip. "Oh, I do wish you'd stop doing that, Edward." She tapped me on the head gently before walking away. My mom wasn't happy about the viperbites, or the eyebrow and ear piercings I had come home with. She said that I was destroying my face. At least she did until I took one of them out and she saw that she couldn't actually see the hole clearly.

Didn't mean she was alright with it, though.

Both of my parents had given me the 'I'm so disappointed in you' treatment after each piercing and tatt. Each to their own I guess. It's me that has to live with them for the rest of my life.

There is one that I wasn't happy about getting, but let's not go into that right now.

I looked at the time as I finished off my breakfast and placed the plate in the dishwasher before heading back up to my room and brushing my teeth, making sure I didn't have any bits of blueberry caught in my teeth or around the balls of my tongue ring. All clear. Good.

I ran back downstairs, grabbing my coat and bag as I walked past, calling goodbye to my mom as I made my way into the garage, turning on the light and grinning when I saw my baby sitting there in front of me.

As it turned out, my dad hadn't shipped my Volvo to Chicago, but had bought a new one over there. So my one was still sat in Forks, being taken out occasionally by the staff that kept the house clean, just making sure that it didn't freeze over or seize up or whatever. Basically to make sure it kept running. But that wasn't the car I headed for. No, no.

I headed for my ultimate baby. My eighteenth birthday gift from my parents.

My brand new silver Audi R8.

I loved this car. It was gorgeous, the interior was incredible and it handled like a dream, seeming to respond to my thoughts rather than my touch. I adored it from the moment I saw it after my dad handed me the keys. I wasn't even bothered that he'd sold the Volvo I'd had in Chicago to pay for it. Well, I don't think that selling the Volvo would have made that much of an impact on the price.

I climbed into the car, flicking the internal remote for the garage that my dad had installed under the dashboard, waiting as it opened painfully slowly. It was the price I paid for leaving it in the garage, I guess, but I wasn't about to leave it outside. Especially what with the Forks weather being what it is.

I switched my iPod, plugging it into the sound system as I made my way down the driveway, remembering exactly how to take each corner as it twisted for what actually was about a mile. Ridiculous length, but whatever. It meant people couldn't find the house, so who was I to complain? I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as 'The Levy' by From First To Last playing through the speakers.

All too soon, I pulled up to the school, scowling up at it through the tinted windows of my car. I hated this place. And it didn't help when I thought about the fact that this was senior year. That should have made me feel a little better, but no, didn't help one bit.

All the people I knew and hated went to school here. All the people that had made my life a living hell were grouped together in this one place five days a week.

I shook my head, trying to clear away those thoughts. I wasn't geeky Edward Cullen anymore. I wasn't the loser that spent more time with books rather than actual people. I wasn't the kid that could solve the most complex mathematical equations that . . . well okay, maybe I could still do that, but hey, could prove useful.

I wasn't the same kid that left here two years ago.

I climbed out of the car, knowing that people were staring at me. The entire parking lot was full of students who had all turned to stare at the new student climbing out of the flashy new car. I turned around, seeing all the faces that I knew but didn't much care for. Hell, I had been the outcast here, only seen as amusement for their games, so I didn't really care what they thought.

Scanning the parking lot quickly, I noticed that the cars were pretty much the same old heaps of junk they had been before I left. The only differences were the one red and one black Toyota Tundra, an enormous white Jeep, a red BMW, a canary yellow Porsche and a black Ducati motorcycle. Those were the flashiest cars in the lot. Well, until mine showed up that is.

In my mind I had no doubt who those cars belonged to and no doubt that I would be meeting up with them at some point over the day. There were a couple of free spaces next to them and I wondered who would be brave enough to park next to their cars.

I made my way into the school, ignoring anyone and everyone. They were all whispering about who the new guy was. You know the regular questions – well, the questions that would be regular if there was a new student in Forks more than once a decade. Technically, I wasn't new. I was just returning to this shithole. I knew I would be up for staring and whispering for the next week, so I didn't really pay attention to it at all.

I watched as Mrs Cope's eyes widened as she took in my appearance. Of course the piercings, tattoo she could see on my neck and leather would give her that reaction, wouldn't it? She probably thought that I was going to corrupt the children of Forks High with whatever gang violence I was into. Which was, I was glad to say – and I think my parents were as well – non-existent.

"Um, excuse me." I waved my hand in front of her face as she continued to stare at me. Now I _knew_ that the thoughts passing through her mind were those that should be broadcast around. She was in her shitting sixties for god's sake. Maybe older. She shouldn't be ogling someone that was young enough to be her fucking grandson.

"Yes, sorry dear." She shook her head, giving me a slightly frazzled smile. _Yup, still the dope I remember._

"I need my schedule." I reminded her and she nodded at me, rifling through a stack of papers next to her.

"Let me see here." She mused, pulling a couple of pieces of paper out. "Edward Cullen?" She looked up at me, a pleasant smile on her face. "We used to have a different student by that same name." She smiled at me like an idiot as though it was the best news I could have ever received. And she didn't even fucking recognise me. Not that I would expect her to.

"Ri-ight." I said slowly, taking the papers from her, nodding. "A _different_ student."

"Excuse me?" She blinked a few times, obviously not hearing the tone of my voice.

"Oh, nothing." I smiled at her, waving the papers. "I'll bring these back at the end of the day." I told her walking out of the office. I knew that she was going to tell me to bring it back, so I said it for her. Made things a lot more damned simple and didn't really give her time to question me about my little statement a moment ago.

As I made my way out of the office, the first warning bell rang, telling the school they had five minutes to get to class. Looking down at the schedule I had been given, seeing that I had History first thing. Sighing, hating History as much as I had in Chicago – I know, shocker isn't it? _Former geek hates class._ Front page news, don't you think? Okay, maybe not.

I walked into the classroom, handing my slip to Mr. Jenson, the teacher, who sat sourly at his desk at the front. He looked at me suspiciously, recognising my name from somewhere. _Yeah, dickweed, you remember me. Remember when Jacob Black and Emmett McCarty thought that it would be funny if they switched my History assignment with the contents of some erotica book they'd swiped and typed out from one of their girlfriends? You remember that, don't you? And I bet you sat at home, reading that whole thing getting yourself off at night. Probably still do._

He nodded at me, signing the slip and gesturing to a seat next to the window. Fucking perfect. Best place in any classroom, next to the fucking window. Not that there's much going on out there, but still, beats what's going on in here.

I sat down, waiting for the rest of the class to file in, watching the door and seeing all the faces I still knew. I saw Eric Yorkie, who seemed to have taken over my role as resident geek of Forks High. I wondered if he received the same treatment I did, or if they'd grown up recently. Probably not. I saw Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton, players on the football team, throwing a ball to and fro as they walked into the class. They may have been on the team, but they weren't in the same league as Emmett and Jacob were. They were just the little rookies compare to Emmett and Jacob's professionalism. I saw Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley, two of Forks' resident bikes following after their little leader, Tanya Denali. She had been a slut when I'd left, so who knows what she was like now.

The other faces that came into the room were a blur to me, but one thing that they all did as they walked into the room, was stare. And I fucking hated it.

"Hey there." I heard a sweet voice answer and I turned to see Tanya sitting there in the seat next to me, practically eye-fucking me where I sat. "You're new here, right?" I didn't answer her, just flicking my viperbites with my tongue ring, as I always did when I was frustrated or aggravated. She didn't seem to notice that I wasn't really in the mood for talking to anyone, let alone her, but then again, Tanya Denali thinks about two things: Tanya Denali and how many dicks she has left to fuck. I am _not_ being added to the ever increasing total. "Can I just say, I _love_ tattoos." She whispered, running one ridiculously long nail down the stave running down my arm.

I pulled my arm away from her, looking to the front of the classroom, where the teacher was going over the syllabus for the year, what books we'd need and all that shit. It didn't escape my notice that everyone kept staring at me all through the lesson, some of them doing it covertly, glancing every so often, but there were others like Tanya, Lauren and Jessica that didn't make it a secret that they were staring. I didn't pay them any attention, sitting there staring out the window, doodling, trying to come up with a new design, hopefully able to find a new artist that was closer than Seattle. There _had_ to be one in Port Angeles. Anything to escape the tediousness of this lesson.

As soon as the bell rang, I had my things in my bag. Unfortunately, so did Tanya and she stood there, waiting for me to pack up.

"So, um, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe, get together. Maybe . . . get to know each other a little better." She licked her bottom lip in an obvious attempt at flirting.

"Sorry, but I don't like going for a ride on the village bike." I replied, swinging my jacket over my shoulder, not bothering to put it on as I wasn't leaving the building. "Try someone else, Tanya."

I walked away before she could answer me, but a sideways glance as I walked across the front of the room towards the door, told me that she was standing there, probably wondering how the hell I knew her name.

English and French passed in much the same way. I didn't need to pay attention to either lesson because I was fluent in French and had already covered the material we were doing in English in Chicago.

I sighed audibly as the bell went and it was time to head for lunch. I hated lunch. I'd hated it every single goddamn day. Especially on the first day somewhere knew or back somewhere.

My first day in Chicago hadn't been so bad seeing as I had already made a couple of friends in the classes beforehand, so I had somewhere to sit. Fitting in in Chicago just seemed easy for me and even when I told them after a while that I had been the school geek, they didn't believe me. I had done what I had set out to achieve. I had become a different person. I wasn't him anymore. He was still in there somewhere, and he came out on test days or when I was doing a particularly difficult equation, but for the most part, he was gone.

I walked up to my locker, taking out the small scrap of paper that I had gotten from Mrs. Cope this morning with my locker combination printed on it. I glanced at it, quickly folding it away and plugging it into the little dial on the front of my locker. I shoved my bag into my locker, making sure that I had my phone, cigarettes – another thing my father hated but realised he really couldn't stop, especially since I used the 'this or drugs' argument with him again - and my wallet in my pockets before sensing someone behind me and being met with two absolutely enormous barriers.

I had to fight not to roll my eyes because I knew exactly who these two were. They were the last two people to see me in this school.

"Hey, dude." Jacob laughed leaning against the lockers beside mine. I wanted to tell him not to because it looked as though he was going to leave a dent in them, but then again if I told him that, he'd probably leave a dent in _me_ and that was not what I was aiming for my first day back at Forks High. I could probably best him, due to his size, he would be slower than I was, meaning I could dodge his attacks and get in a few of my own, but the fact that he had Emmett with him as well, didn't really bode well in my favour. "Heard about what you said to Tanya in History earlier. You know, you're the first person to turn her down flat like that?"

"Is that so?" I mumbled, double checking my bag and closing my locker.

"Hell, yeah." Emmett scoffed. "I mean, have you seen her?!" He whistled lowly chuckling. "I mean, if I didn't have Rosie . . . well . . ." _So he and Rosalie were still together. Hmm._ "So what's your name, bro?" He grinned down at me, having absolutely no idea who I was.

"Edward." I smiled back up at him.

"Huh." Jacob shifted slightly and I wondered if he'd figured it out. "We knew an Edward once, didn't we?"

"What that geeky kid, who just disappeared with his parents?" Emmett asked before chuckling. "My God, what a loser. You're lucky he's not here anymore."

"Why's that?" I asked, trying to keep my tone level.

"Because I'd hate to share my name with a loser like him." Jacob laughed, leaning back on the lockers completely. "I mean, talk about Head of the Geek Patrol."

"He was fun to piss off, though." Emmett grinned and Jacob nodded. "Mr. Perfect GPA and perfect tardy record. It was like the guy had never heard of contacts before, or spot cream. It was like the teacher's thought the sun shone out of his ass."

"Definitely." Jacob nodded, having sobered up a little. "Hey, we're heading to lunch. Come sit with us."

"Yeah." Emmett flung his arm around my shoulder, feeling as though it weighed a hundred pounds on its own and I hissed slightly. He looked down at me, seeming confused. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, rubbing my shoulder gently, trying to ease the burning his sudden move against my skin had caused. "New ink, is all."

"Cool." He grinned, throwing his arm around my shoulder, and pulling me along with him. I wondered if he was really as ignorant to who I was or if he was just acting that he didn't have a clue. He pulled me through the cafeteria doors, Jacob following with a huge grin on his face. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Emmett as he dragged me along towards where the food was. "Now, you've got to be careful about what you eat here. Never go for the stuff made in the cafeteria. The pizza's okay-ish but still, it's best to steer clear. Always go for the packaged stuff, like the sandwiches and shit like that, okay?" It amused me that he was schooling me on what to and what not to eat, even though I knew exactly what was safe and what would have you off for three days with food poisoning.

He grabbed two trays, thrusting one at me and I had a hard time containing the laughter that was threatening to burst free as the three of us collected and paid for our food. I wonder what they'd say and do if they knew that I was that same geek they had been bad-mouthing not five minutes ago. But then again, I didn't really resemble a geek, did I?

"And this is our table." Of course I knew that already. But I didn't let on about that. It would be even more amusing when they eventually found out who I was. "Ed, this is Rose, Jazz, Alice, Mike, Ty, Lauren, Jess, you've met Tanya," she gave me a worrying smirk. Note to self: find male chastity belt on eBay. "And this is Bella. Everyone, this Ed. He's the new kid."

"Yeah." Jacob sighed, sitting down next to Bella, draping an arm over the back of her chair. "We figured we'd hijack him before any of the losers could get their hands on him."

"Good call." Alice grinned at Jacob before turning back to look at me. "Is Ed short for Edward?" She asked and I wondered what she knew. We'd been back in town for two days, my father hadn't been back to the hospital yet, so other than the staff there, no one would know he was back – he had requested it not be made public knowledge as we just want to settle back into life here in Forks. Or at least that was the story he told them – my mother hadn't left the house, constantly complaining about the placement of this and that, not wanting to leave until it was perfect and this was my first day back at school. We had made sure that none of the movers trucks had gone through the town, taking the roundabout way to the house, so unless people were staking out the old Cullen residence, then there was no way for people to know we were back. Not announcing that we were coming back and doing it as quietly as possible was the one agreement I'd wanted from my parents for not kicking up a fuss and they'd quickly agreed, knowing that I could raise hell when I wanted to. Being an only child gave me that precise skill.

"Um, yeah." I nodded, not wanting to elaborate.

"Do you guys remember that geeky kid called Edward?" Jacob laughed as though it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. _Did we really have to go back to how much of a loser I'd been back then? It's time for the present people!_

"Oh my God, yes!" Alice laughed along with him. "You know, if he'd traded his glasses for some contacts and gotten that acne cleared up, he could have been quite cute."

"Are you kidding, Alice?" Tanya scoffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder and leaning over, giving me a full view that I didn't want. I didn't even look at her, but focused on the hyperactive pixie. "I mean, he was a complete loser. He made Einstein look cool." I raised my eyebrows at her minutely, thinking that it was amazing that she even knew who Einstein was. I guess everyone else must have been looking at her the same way because she looked around and huffed defensively. "What? I know some stuff."

"I was sad when he left." A low, sultry voice from my right said softly.

"You were?" Jacob asked incredulously and I turned to see that it was Bella who had spoken. She had been sad when I left? What warped world was I living in? "Really?"

"Mmhmmm." She nodded, playing with her food. "After he left, I had no one to play with anymore." _Of course. She had no one to fucking terrorise after I left._

In that moment, I decided to say 'fuck it' and addressed Bella directly. Something that I'd never done before. "What do you mean 'play with'?" I asked, wondering whether I wanted to know the answer to that question.

"He was always so much fun to mess with." She smirked. "You know? He was that one kid that you couldn't help do it to. You know what I mean."

"Not sure I do." I replied honestly, taking a bite of the questionable pizza I'd bought, hoping that it wouldn't make me gravely ill. I wasn't holding up much hope that I would be okay after ingesting it.

"Come on, Ed." Emmett whacked me on the arm, making me jump. "You can't say that you've never seen some kid and thought 'I just gotta do it. I can't not.' I mean you've got to."

"Can't say that I have." I replied coolly.

"Seriously?" Mike gaped at me and I replied with a 'fuck you 'tard' look, which he looked slightly confused at. "Do you guys remember when we glued all the pages of that music paper together?" The table erupted in laughter at the memory. I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down.

I remembered that fucking day. It was a week before we moved away, and I had brought the brand new monogrammed manuscript paper that my parents had bought me as a partial birthday present, so I could work on my composition at school. When it got to lunch, I noticed that the paper wasn't in my bag, so I went to my locker to fetch it so I could continue to work on it. After putting in the code to my locker, I saw that the book was in fact in there, but it's angle indicated that it had been slid through the vent at the top of my locker. I picked it up and was extremely pissed to find that they'd glued every single one of the fucking pages together.

"You okay, Ed?" Emmett asked, looking concerned at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, slowly, feeling my anger levels depleting slowly with every passing moment. "I was just thinking about he must have felt when you did that."

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked, daintily pushing her salad around the tiny box it was in with her fork. _Still not eating properly, huh, Rose? I wonder if Daddy knows about that._

"What I mean is, did any of you actually stop to think how all of the things you did to him, because I'm guessing it was more than just that once, right?" They nodded, smirking. "Did you actually stop to think how it made him feel?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded, twisting her hair around her finger. "Once. But then I came back to the real world."

And cue laughter.

"Hey." Jacob nodded out into the car park after all the laughter had died down. I picked up the second slice of pizza that I'd bought, taking a bite as he stared in awe at something out the window. _Probably some chick with big tits and a huge ass._ "Have you guys seen that Audi out there?" _Maybe not._

"What?" The guys and surprisingly, Rosalie, all turned to look out of the window, breaths of awe leaving them at the same time.

"Brand new Audi R8." Emmett breathed as Jacob stared at it. _Now, if you can tell me which one's Dumb and which one's Dumber, I'll give you a prize._ "_Someone _had a good summer. I wonder whose it is."

I raised a finger, swallowing, thankfully able to hide the smug smile on my face. "It's mine."

"Are you kidding me?" Rosalie asked, her voice completely disbelieving and I shook my head.

"Nope." I took a gulp of my water, setting it back down on the table in front of me. "She's mine. Got her for my eighteenth birthday."

"Whoa." Jacob breathed, still staring out the window at my gorgeous machine. "When's your birthday?"

"June." I admitted, not being specific, not wanting them to add anything up. Thankfully, at that moment, the warning bell rang and everyone started packing up. I quickly made my way away from the table, tossing my trash in the can and making my way towards my locker. I hadn't even been able to go out for a fucking cigarette like James and I normally would at lunch. Two years of doing it and we never got caught. How's that for sly?

I grabbed my bag out of my locker and quickly checked my schedule. _Biology_. Great. I'd already taken AP Biology last year so I really shouldn't be in this class. I really _should_ be in a different class, but whatever. There wasn't much chance that they would change it for me.

I walked into the classroom and handed my slip to Mr. Banner who quickly signed it and handed it back to me before gesturing to the last empty seat. I turned to walk towards it, fighting a smirk when I noticed that the last seat, was in fact, next to the one and only Isabella Swan.

She looked up at smiled at me. Not a wicked smirk that she used to give me before I left, but an actual genuine smile. Didn't think that the Bitch Queen was capable of those.

I sat down next to her, dropping my bag on the floor.

"Hmm. . ." She smiled at me. "My lucky day."

"What?" I quirked an eyebrow at her, wondering what she meant by that. She had used to say that to me before I left, which made me nervous that she had figured out who I was exactly.

"Well, not everyone gets the new kid as their biology partner, do they?" She smirked at me and I shrugged in response.

"Also the new kid has already done AP Biology at his old school." I told her and her eyes flashed with something.

"Where did you live before you moved here?" She asked, ignoring Mr. Banner, who had started the lesson.

"Chicago." I replied, glancing to the front, making sure that he wasn't really paying attention to us.

"You miss it there." It wasn't a question, but a statement she knew to be true.

"Yeah." I nodded once in response, again, not elaborating on the subject.

She didn't continue the conversation after that, as Mr. Banner went through the meanings behind several stages of cell mutation. Whoo! Great fun.

"What do you miss most about Chicago?" She asked, quietly, making me jump slightly at how close she was.

"My friends." I replied, feeling strange at using that word in Forks without the words 'I don't have any' in front of it. Because in Chicago, I had had friends. I wasn't the most popular guy in the school, but I didn't care. A few close friends was all I had wanted in life – at that point in time – and a few close friends is what I got. James Hill, Jane and Alec Volturi – twins – Victoria Messenger, Demetri McCallagh, Gianna Davis and Kate Bowe. I had friends outside of that group, but they were my close friends. They were the only ones that knew of my previous geek status, although they didn't believe it – well, until they saw that I was in Calculus in junior year and getting higher grades than the seniors in the class. My IQ was stupidly high. Can you blame me for that?

I missed them more than I thought I would. The fact that they were all there, together. I don't know. It made me felt alone and empty. They were the only ones aside from my parents who knew me at all. Others used to see the glasses, the pocket protector and the acne and steer clear because I was a geek, but now people see the ink and the steel, although most of it is hidden underneath my clothes, and they steer clear because they think that I could be dangerous. Not even stopping to get to know me.

I'd met James in Chicago my first day in AP Chemistry. He was a sophomore taking this class as well and I didn't feel quite alone. I was kind of at the in between stage when I started school in Chicago. I had been using contacts for the previous three days and was getting the hang of them, and because of that wash my mom had bought for me, my spots had all but disappeared. He didn't seem put off because I was the new kid, and apparently that had been him last year, so he knew how I felt. He'd started half way through his freshman year, middle of the semester, so in actual fact I had it easy because it was so close to the beginning of the year.

We got chatting immediately and by the end of the class, I had made my first friend, pretty much . . . _ever_. In the classes leading up to lunch I met Kate and Alec, not realising that they all happened to hang around with the same group. They accepted me pretty quickly and we'd all been firm friends since.

It was them that convinced me to get the back tattoo, basically telling me that I only had the chance to be young and stupid once. Each of them had a tattoo, and I know what you're thinking. I did it to fit in, but that wasn't true. I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while, drawing out the design I wanted. I reasoned that I had been acting like a grown up for most of my life and putting other people first. So maybe, just this once, I should think of myself.

So I did.

And three months later, in the middle of March, I had my full back completed. My parents were pissed when I came home with the outline done, but there wasn't much they could do about it. And when it was finished, I even got them to admit that it was an incredible piece of artwork. I believe my mom even gasped at it. Maybe that was because it was so big though, I don't know. I'm taking it as she liked it. So there.

"I guess that's what I'd miss if I had to move away." She nodded seeming thoughtful. Now _here's_ something I never thought would happen. Me, Edward Cullen former King of the Geeks, was sitting here, having an actual conversation with Queen Bee Isabella Swan.

She didn't say anything for the remainder of the lesson, something for which I was grateful. I didn't know if I could listen to her for much longer, especially because I knew how vicious she could actually be. I had a scar above my left eyebrow to prove it.

The last class of my day was gym. We were playing basketball. It seemed that each year they started off with basketball, no matter what year you were in at the school. Maybe it was because the teachers couldn't handle teaching more than one sport a semester, so they had everyone do the same thing at the same time.

"You're really good, man." Jasper wiped his brow off as they made their way back into the locker rooms. "You should try out for the team."

"I don't know." I shook my head as I opened my locker to get changed, deciding I would shower at home. I never liked showering at school. The only time I would was if I had an early morning gym lesson, and even then, it was quick.

I pulled off my gym shirt, stuffing it back into my gym bag and grabbing the t-shirt I'd been wearing throughout the day.

"Wow." I heard someone behind me breathe quietly.

"What?" I turned around and saw that Jasper was standing there gawping at my back. "Oh, the tatt."

"It's huge." He replied as I threw on my t-shirt. "You not gonna shower?"

"I'm going to wait till I get home." I explained and he looked at me strangely as I changed into my jeans. "I just don't using public showers."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, making his way through to the shower. "See you tomorrow."

"Later." I called over my shoulder, throwing on my jacket and heading out towards my car to find Tanya standing there leaning on it. I froze, seeing her there, on the hood. Nobody _sits_ on my car. _Ever_. Call me obsessive. Call me possessive. Call me anal. What the fuck ever. I hated anyone leaning, sitting or doing whatever on my car.

"Hi, Edward." She smiled at me, wiggling her fingers. "How was your first day?"

"Fine." I replied shortly, unlocking the car and opening the door.

"I was wondering if you'd rethought going out at all." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger and bit on her lip, but all I could really focus on was the fact that she was still on my fucking car!

"No, Tanya, I haven't. I meant what I said earlier and I'm still not interested." I put one foot inside the car, making it clear that I was about to leave. "Now, I have to get home now, so . . ." I motioned for her to move and she seemed to get the message and reluctantly stood up. "Oh and Tanya." Her smile brightened as she looked at me again. "Don't sit on my car."

I know it was harsh of me, but hey, I was getting her back for everything she'd done to me before I'd left. It didn't really matter that she didn't know it was me, but whatever.

The drive home was short and uneventful, but then again, everything about this town is. Expecting anything to happen in this town is like expecting Hell to freeze over and Charlie Swan to dress in drag and do the hula. Not going to happen.

I pulled up into the driveway, opening the garage door as I did so, parking next to my mom's midnight blue Mercedes C-Class Estate. My dad's car was still not in the garage so, I surmised that he was still at work.

"Hey, honey." My mom called as I walked through the garage door. "How was your first day? Did you meet up with your old friends?"

I rolled my eyes as I walked past her, dumping my bag and coat on the hooks with my name above them. Personalised nameplates in a family of three. That's my mother for you.

"Mom, for it to be possible for me to meet up with my 'old friends', I would have required friends here in the first place." I explained, walking back into the kitchen, placing a kiss on her cheek as I did so.

"Oh, sweetheart, of course you had friends here." She sat down next to where I had perched myself on one of the bar stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Really?" I scoffed. "Then how come I didn't know any of them. Face it, Mom." I stopped her because I didn't want her to carry on about how I must have had friends when I was here, because I had had friends in Chicago. My mom was popular in high school. Go figure. "I was a loser when I was here. All I was to people was the local geek to take the piss out of. Sorry!" I winced as one of her small hands met the back of my head. "Make fun of." I appeased and she nodded. "I changed when I got to Chicago."

"I know." She whispered, running her fingers through my hair gently. "And I'm glad you did." I looked at her stunned for a moment and opened my mouth to say something but she beat me. "Because you seem so much happier with who you are now. That's why your father and I never made a huge fuss about the piercings and the tattoos – though in my mind you could have done without them. Don't look at me like that, young man." She pointed a finger at my expression which I was guessing had taken on a 'not this again' look. I shrugged and shook my head at her. "But you seemed more at home, happier with who you were and in school. And we thought that as you were keeping your grades up and we didn't have any phone calls or letters about skipping classes-"

"I may have skipped one or two." I admitted quietly and she straightened up. "But they were always for good reasons." I countered and I could tell that she didn't believe me.

"Well . . ." She sighed through pursed lips and I could tell that was a tiny tidbit I should have kept to myself. "Nothing we can do about it now, is there?" I shook my head hoping that she would just let it go. "Now, do you have homework?" I nodded, scowling and she smiled, ruffling my already insane hair. "Go do it then." I chuckled as she pushed me off of the stool with the hand that was still in my hair. She called my name as I grabbed my bag and started up the stairs. "We're having the Swans round for dinner tonight."

"What?!" I'm pretty sure that I resembled a shocked cartoon character as my mom walked over to me chuckling at my expense.

"Close your mouth." She chuckled gently. "You look like Bugs Bunny."

I closed my mouth and eyes, shaking my head slightly. "Did you say we're having the Swans round for dinner?"

"I did." She nodded once, seeming to enjoy my confusion.

"All of them?"

"Well, we can't leave one of them at home, can we?" She replied, her smile crinkling the outsides of her eyes and her eyes alight with amusement.

"Since when?" I asked her wondering how long she'd had this planned. If she'd had it planned before today, then Bella would know that it was me she was talking to. She may have been head cheerleader, but she had a brain as well. She wasn't completely stupid like her boyfriend.

"Since I ran into Renee in the grocery store today, while you were at school." She replied crossing her arms over her chest, looking somewhat defiant. "Now, your father gets home at six, they'll be here at seven. Go and do your homework and then get changed. This is a smart-casual affair, not an 'I've just rolled out of bed' thing."

I rolled my eyes at her analogy of my wardrobe. I guessed I could wear one of the button downs she was constantly buying for me that I never wore. Maybe she was thinking that if she bought enough of them, I'd suddenly have some sort of mind flip and start wearing them. I've always hated them, so that was not going to happen.

After finishing my French, I heard the garage door opening. I looked out of my window and saw that my father was easing his way in next to my Audi. I looked at the clock and saw that it was six thirty. Uh-oh. Mom's gonna fli-ip.

I didn't want to know what my mom would do to my dad, so I grabbed a towel out of my own personal linen closet and made my way into my en suite, jumping in the shower. I had meant to do that straight after I'd gotten home from school, but hey, finding out that the girl who made your school-life a living hell for five years will get you a bit sidetracked.

Climbing out of the shower, I tied the towel loosely around my waist and walked out of the bathroom. I grabbed a fresh pair of underwear, sliding them on underneath the towel before I grabbed a pair of jeans so dark, you couldn't actually tell they were jeans unless you got up really close.

There was a knock at the door as I was sliding on my jeans and I waited till I had the top button done up and had walked back into my bathroom before calling out that they could come in.

I slid on the black wife-beater that I had grabbed on the way through to the bathroom as I heard my father calling out to me from my main room. "In here, Dad." I called and he walked through, leaning against the doorframe.

"You were late home." I smirked at him and he smiled at me sheepishly. "Was mom mad?"

"A little." He chuckled, not seeming too bothered about that fact.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the impending arrival of our guests?" I mocked him and he laughed, throwing something at me, hitting me in the arm. "Mature."

"I know." He called over his shoulder before leaving the room. "Oh, Edward."

"Yeah."

"Your mother says to wear the green shirt." I walked out into the room to see him sticking his head around the door. "In her words, it'll bring out your eyes."

"Shut up." I waved him off and he laughed. "Go get dressed, old man."

"Who're you calling old man?" He stood up tall, smirking at me. In actual fact, I could really call him 'old man' because he certainly didn't look like one. He looked in his late twenties, early thirties at the oldest. Certainly not old enough to have an eighteen year old son.

"You." I laughed, grabbing the shirt that my mom wanted me to wear. It saves an argument, okay? Normally, I'd brush it off and wear what I wanted, but my mom hadn't seen Renee or Charlie since we moved away and I knew that she missed them. This meant a lot to my mom, so I was going to behave. For the most part, anyway. I couldn't say what would happen when Bella walked through the door. "If I were you I'd get moving because you have five minutes to change and be downstairs before they arrive."

"Shit." I laughed at the curse coming out of Carlisle's mouth. It was odd to hear either of them swear, but when they did, it was fucking funny. They just looked and sounded wrong doing it.

I slid on the shirt and did it up almost all the way. I looked in the mirror and looked exactly how I used to. Like I retard. I swear, this place does things to me. I undid the buttons on the cuffs and rolled up my sleeves so they were just above my elbows. Much better.

I threw on my Chucks – which I knew my mom wouldn't be too happy about, but meh, it's not like we were going to a fancy restaurant or like it was a holiday or anything, so she could deal – and made my way downstairs as the door opened. I groaned quietly as I heard Renee and my mom squeal, probably hugging each other while Charlie and my dad exchanged pleasantries and handshakes.

"So, where's Edward?" I heard the third voice, the voice of Bella ask.

"He should be down in a minute." My mom answered her and I heard Renee respond slightly surprised. "I'll go and get him."

"Bella, how come you didn't mention him before?" She asked in a suggestive tone and I knew that I should probably make an appearance soon, so I started walking down the stairs. "When is he back at school?"

"He started back today." My mom's voice was closer as I walked down the stairs, still out of sight of the main entryway where everyone was still talking. "Edward." She sighed, looking at me. "Where have you been? Our guests are here."

"I hear that." I replied as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I thought I said smart-casual." She put her hands on her hips, shaking her head at me.

"Right." I nodded, indicating my clothes. "The shirt makes it smart and the rolled up sleeves is casual. Embodies what you wanted, doesn't it?" I smirked at her, knowing that she couldn't argue with me.

"Smartass." She shook her head, chuckling.

"I know." I smiled widely at her, following her into the foyer which lead through into the kitchen and dining room.

I leaned against the wall, waiting for Bella to turn around and notice that I was standing there.

"Bella." Renee nudged her lightly, nodding towards me. "Say hello to Edward."

She turned to look at me and I saw the brief glint in her eye that I knew so well. I had seen that glint many many times before, before I had left. I had become quite accustomed to it. But it was quickly replaced by disbelief when she saw me standing there in the doorway.

"Hello, Isabella." I acknowledged her, letting her know exactly who I was by using her full name, especially since the Edward she met at school today, only knew her as Bella.

Her jaw clenched as I smirked at her, waiting for her response. "Hello, _Edward_." She practically sneered my name and I couldn't help but chuckle. The parents had made their way into the kitchen, Renee helping my mom prepare everything to take through, even though my mom told her to leave it to her and my dad.

I made my way over to Bella, gently brushing past her as I walked, leaning down. "You really should find out more about people before inviting them to join your group." I whispered, feeling her stiffen at the close proximity.

I smirked to myself knowing that I had the upper hand here. She hadn't been expecting to see me. She had been expecting to see an eighteen year old version of the clumsy geek that she had last seen two years ago. Not a pierced and tattooed version.

She followed after me, following closely behind me as I made my way through into the kitchen stepping up behind my mom. "Anything you need me to do?" I asked her, making her jump slightly.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?" She growled at me, hitting me with a towel before looking around. "No, I don't. It looks like we're all done here. Why don't you go on through to the dining room, with Bella." The way she said Bella's name made me think that she wanted something to happen between us. I rolled my eyes in a way that told her that _nothing_ was going to, or would _ever_ happen between me and Bella Swan. I might have changed, but we were still too different. "Bella, why don't you follow Edward through to the dining room?" She glanced between the two of us, smiling to herself.

I shook my head and walked through to the dining room, where the rest of the parents were starting to dish out dinner. Well, Charlie and Renee tried to help, but my dad kept shooting them down. It was amusing to see.

I sighed when I saw the placement of the settings. I knew that Charlie and my dad would be sitting at the ends of the table, and it looked as though Renee and my mom would be sitting next to each other as well. Which left me sitting next to Bella. _Great._

I sat down next to my father and shot him a dark look. He knew all about my past with Bella, as did my mom. He shot me an apologetic look, glancing into the kitchen as my mom walked through with the vegetable lasagne she had made, since none of us in the house ate meat. Apparently my dad had been turned off eating meat during his residency – go figure, huh? – and my mom had been vegetarian since she was twelve. So me being born into a house where no one ate meat it was clearly a given that I wouldn't either.

My mom and dad dished everything out and we all started to eat, the parents starting up conversations about what had been going on over the last two years.

"So, Edward." Bella turned to face me and I hummed in response, not looking at her. "How come you didn't tell us who you were at lunch, today?" I could hear the smirk in her voice as she asked me that and I turned to look at her knowing that she would be on the phone immediately after this was over, telling Alice and Rosalie and everyone in that little shit heap of a group that I was back in town.

"You never asked." I replied, smirking at her, as her eyes narrowed at me.

"Don't you think that's kind of rude?" She asked, innocently as she pushed her food around her plate, focusing on me. "I mean, we all thought that you were new. And you didn't have the decency to tell us that you weren't. Only that you were a returning student. We wouldn't have brought you up at lunch if we'd known."

"No." I chuckled, darkly, placing my fork onto my plate. "I could only imagine the welcome I'd have gotten if you'd known I was coming back. Not something I'm interested in. Excuse me."

I pushed my chair out and walked out onto the porch, hearing my mom apologising for me behaviour and really fucking glad that I'd put my cigarettes in my pocket. I shook one out of the packet and took my lighter out of my pocket.

"So, you think that just because you've got some tattoos, piercings and smoke, you're not the same little geek you were when you left?" I heard Bella laugh behind me as she stood in the open doorway.

"Shut the fucking door." I mumbled, taking a drag of the cigarette. "It was shut for a reason."

"Right." I could practically hear the eye roll coming through in her tone as she slid the door shut, probably glad that I'd told her to, because that way the parents couldn't hear what was going on out here. Just the way she wanted it. "Don't want Mommy and Daddy to hear?"

"No." I scoffed. "With the door open the smoke goes into the fucking house. Or was that too obvious for you to realise?" She didn't reply and I knew that she wasn't expecting me to be so challenging with her. "What?" I turned to face her, leaning on the railing, taking another drag of my cigarette. "Not expecting me to talk back? Expecting the same little geek that left two years ago? Newsflash Bella: He's gone. You were right. That Edward was a pathetic loser but then again, it's good to know that he's not here anymore, isn't it?"

"Right." She snorted, a dainty sound that didn't quite fit her. "No one ever really changes, _Eddie_." I managed not to cringe as she said that nickname I absolutely loathed. James and the others had only ever used it to get my attention if I was spaced out about something, but never in excess, probably because they always had something thrown at them if they did. "You're still that same geek. You always will be. No matter how much you don't want to be, you'll always be a geek."

"Whatever you say, Bella." I pushed myself off of the railing, taking one last drag of my cigarette and throwing it out into the darkness behind me. "But you know what that means, don't you?" I said walking towards her, blowing out smoke with every word. She took a step back with my proximity but found herself directly flattened against the wall. I smirked, placing a hand either side of her head, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "That means you'll always be a two-faced bitch, with no real friends. Have fun with that." I pulled back to see anger in her eyes as she tried to think of something to say. "The Edward you used to know, might have rolled over and taken everything you and your little horde threw at him, but me? No no no." I shook my head, mocking her. "_I_ am nothing like the Edward you used to know. _I_ fight back. And believe me, it doesn't matter that you're a girl. Fuck with me and I _will_ give as good as I get. So here's a little tip: Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me. Little girl."

I pushed away from the wall and smirked at her as I walked back into the house. She most definitely had _not_ been expecting that from me.

I know that she would be straight on the phone to Alice as I walked into the house and back up to my room, but honestly, I really couldn't care less. Because what I had said was true.

If she wanted to play, I would bring it.

**Likey?**

**I have more.**

**Don't worry there's more if you want it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Me? Not Stephenie. Don't own. Just like to play with.**

**And here's Chapter 3 for you.**

**4****th**** September 2009**

_**Bella**_

The alarm clock blaring out across my bedroom was the last thing I wanted to hear at the moment. It meant I had to get out of the lovely, cosy cocoon, I called my bed.

I reached out and grabbed the fluffy thing that Alice had bought me and threw it across the wall. At least she had enough sense to buy me one that didn't break upon impact and turned off when thrown.

I grumbled, knowing that Renee would be up any moment and banging on my door for me to get out of bed. If you hadn't noticed, I wasn't a morning person.

Just as I'd predicted, Renee knocked on my door, a little less than quietly and yelled for me to get up or I'd miss breakfast. Something I hated to do because it meant that I had to wait until lunch before I could eat.

I slowly pushed back my covers and crawled out of bed, slightly relieved that it wasn't raining for once and that there was a chance of a little sun today.

I quickly jumped into the shower, washing my hair and shaving all necessary parts, because instead of English second period, I would be holding cheer practise, and being hairy at all in those little shorts was not something someone wanted to be.

I climbed out of the shower, wrapping myself in my towel and doing the same with my hair. I would dry it when I had sorted out the rest of my outfit for the day.

I walked over to my walk-in closet, flicking on the light that allowed me to see everything I had bought over the summer and that would be making its debut in the following weeks. Glancing out the window again, I decided that I would brave the possible cold and grabbed my ripped denim skirt and a dark blue button up shirt. I also picked up my dark blue pair of ballet flats from the shoe rack on the wall, deciding that they would go nicely with what I was wearing. It might only be the second day of school, but hey, no point in waiting to show off what you've got, right? Walking out into my bedroom, I placed my outfit on my bed, I made my way over to my dresser and pulled out my chosen underwear for the day.

I pulled on my lacy blue boy shorts and matching bra, giving myself the once over in the mirror. I had put on a couple of pounds over the summer, but a couple of practises and meets and I would be back down to what I was before summer started. I pulled on my skirt and found a white cami to wear under the shirt, because I wasn't a prude and didn't want to wear my shirt buttoned up all the way. But I wasn't a slut either and didn't want to give everyone a free show. So a cami was perfect. I pulled on my shirt, doing it up so that the cami was on show, but just enough to give the impression that something worth working for was underneath – which of course, it most definitely _was_ worth it. I wouldn't be head cheerleader otherwise would I? – without coming off strong. Unlike some other girls I know.

I quickly did my make-up – a little foundation and blush, some light blue eye shadow (I was in the mood for blue today, got a problem with that?) and mascara. I swiped on some watermelon lip gloss and quickly did my hair, blasting it with the hairdryer and easing some Slick'N'Straight into it, making sure it didn't frizz at all before grabbing my jacket and bag and making my way downstairs to where our cook, Renata, was making breakfast.

My dad, Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table, reading his paper and drinking a cup of hot coffee. My mom, Renee was nowhere to be seen and I knew that she would be in the workout room, doing her yoga or pilates or something like that.

"Not in work, today, Dad?" I asked, sitting down across from him as Renata placed a small bowlful of non fat yogurt and berries in front of me and a fried breakfast in front of Charlie.

"Nope." He shook his head, smiling as he put his paper down and started his breakfast. "Day off today."

Charlie was the Chief of Police in this crummy little town, but he had a good mind for stocks and shares, so we were well off. Well, I say well off. What I mean is that when they'd been around, the only ones with more money than us were the Cullens' but that was because Carlisle Cullen was the Head of Surgery at Forks' Hospital and made a whole load of money doing it. Now that they were gone, we were the top of the heap when it came to liquidity, which meant that I got everything I wanted. Thanks to Daddy dearest.

I finished my breakfast, waved goodbye to Charlie and shouted goodbye to Renee, receiving a muffled 'have a good day' in response. Why she bothered to do that in the morning I didn't know. It wasn't like she had anyone else to impress and she had the body of a twenty year old anyway. Let me tell you, when I get to her age, I want to look that good. No matter what it costs me.

I climbed into my baby. My beautiful red Toyota Tundra and started the engine, listening to the hum as it started. I pulled out of my driveway, plugging in my iPod and hearing the Veronicas 'Popular' come on. I smiled to myself, knowing how true this song was, of me at least.

I'd gotten to the school, before the song even finished and I noticed Alice standing next to her yellow Porsche, snuggling into her boyfriend of _forever_ Jasper. She waved as she noticed me coming around the corner and parking in my usual spot. This had been my spot since I got this baby, and I wasn't going to give it up for anyone.

"Hey." She squealed as I climbed out of the car and turned to face her, closing the door. "Guess what?" She stood there bouncing up and down in front of me, and if I didn't know Alice like I did, I would have thought that she'd drunk five or six cups of coffee already.

"What?" I asked, smiling at Jasper who was shaking his head at his girlfriend's hyperactivity. She was normally bouncy, but this was extreme even for her.

"We have a new student." She grinned at me and I stopped.

"What?" I turned to face her immediately. Normally I knew all the shit that was going on in this lousy town. If Gossip Girl was real, she would be me. How the hell did I not know that crucial piece of information? "Did you just say we have a new student?" She nodded, grinning at me. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Jacob, Rose and Emmett walking towards us, but I didn't really register them. All my concentration was on the hyperactive little imp in front of me. "Who? Where are they from? Name? Grade? Come on, details."

"I don't know what his name is, or where he's from, but I do know that he's in our year and he moved into town two days ago with his parents." She was literally bouncing as she talked and I started walking.

"How do you know that, and not know his name?" I asked, confused and she shrugged. Hell, if Alice didn't know, then no one was going to know.

"Reckon we can kidnap him before the losers in this place do?" Emmett walked up beside me, wrapping an arm around Rosalie as we walked.

"Better had." I mumbled, wondering who this guy was and where he'd come from. This was the first thing in the dumbass town that had managed to escape me. How the hell had they gotten through the town without everyone knowing about it? Normally you couldn't sneeze without the whole town knowing. So how they managed to sneak in was an incredible feat. "Don't want the nerd herd getting their paws on him."

"Damn straight." Rosalie agreed and we all laughed, speculating what he would be like.

Was he preppy? A jock? Could he handle himself on the sports field? If he could then he could have potential here. Was he a skater? If he was then we could straighten that out? Was he a nerd that would require all the power Alice, Rosalie and I had at our fingertips to make him presentable? The only nerd that I knew of who had been beyond saving had been Edward Cullen. King of the Geeks. _Back to the Cullens' again_. Why was I thinking about them today? I shrugged it off, not really paying it any mind.

We all split off to our homeroom classes, Rose, Alice and I heading one way and the boys headed another.

"Do you reckon Jacob will _ever_ get the memo that the two of you are over?" Rose asked, frustration in her voice. I know what she meant. I had broken up with Jacob in April and we were now in September. I mean, come on. It's been, what, five months since we were together and he's been hounding me like a lost puppy dog, begging me to go out with him again. I'd just had enough of him and wanted a change. Nothing he said or did was going to make me change my mind.

"I don't think so." I sighed as we sat down, not paying any attention to the rest of the class or the teacher for that matter.

"Well, maybe Mr. New Kid will be able to chase him away." Alice giggled and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Come on, Ali. We don't even know what he looks like yet." That only made her laugh harder and I couldn't help but smile. "Okay, maybe. If he's decent looking enough, then I'll think about it, but if not, then I'm going to have to send him on his way."

"Fair enough." Alice replied and Rose nodded adding in, "Sounds reasonable."

I had English first and I hated it. Alice was with me for this class, but Rose was somewhere else altogether. She was in mechanics. If I didn't know better then I would say that she was in that class purely because Emmett was, but I _did_ know Rose and I knew that she probably knew her way around a car's engine better than any man I know. Surpassing even Jacob, which was a tough feat.

"We have cheer practise second?" Alice asked and I nodded, sending a mass text to the squad making sure that they knew what was going on.

I didn't pay any attention to the class, instead I passed notes to Alice for the whole hour, both of us speculating about the new guy and how the family had gotten into town without _anyone_ knowing about it until this morning. Alice didn't know either and that was something that confused me. Normally she knew everything.

As soon as the bell went signalling the end of class, Alice and I made our way down to the locker room and changed for practise, pulling on our black Spartans vests and shorts, which had _Spartans_ written across them and a tiny Spartans head on the hip of the shorts.

I looked up as someone threw open the door, obviously pissed off and was surprised when I saw that it was Tanya storming towards us. Was she not happy about the practise instead of having to go to Chemistry?

"What's up, Tan?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

"That goddamn new kid." She huffed as she changed.

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of the way, sitting down next to her. "What about him?"

"He called me the village bike." She looked at Alice and I and we tried not to snicker because, well, it was true. "I know what you guys are thinking, but he just shot me down. Literally, gun and bang." She made the motions of the gun and I was surprised. Not by the fact that she knew how a gun worked, but because normally, no guy could resist Tanya. He must have a steel will to have done that. "And you know what the weird thing is?" We shook our heads, not knowing what could be weirder than Tanya being shot down, point blank. "He knew my name."

"Maybe you told him your name." Alice said, looking at her nails in a 'duh' sounding way. "Did you find out his?"

"That's the thing, though." She looked between us again. "I _didn't_ tell him my name. And no one else said it. No, I didn't. I didn't get a chance to ask. He was really rude."

"That _is_ weird." I mused, wondering what was going on with the new kid. How could he know Tanya when he's never met her before. "What's he look like?"

"Oh my God." She breathed as we stood up and made our way out of the locker room into the gym. "He's gorgeous. I didn't see how tall he was, because he was sitting down when I walked in, but I'm guessing about six foot or so. His hair was this weird colour, like a mix of red and brown and his eyes. Bright green." She giggled and Alice grinned at me. This was sounding promising and I knew that if I liked him, and told Tanya to do so, she would back off. "That's not even the best part."

"Alright guys, stretch." I called out over the gym before turning back to Tanya. "What is then?"

"Oh, his _tattoos_." I felt my eyes widening. Not that I would ever admit it, but I happened to _love_ tattoos on a man. As long as they weren't weedy little ones, that is. Those just made it look like a guy was trying to be tough and macho, but was really too scared to get a decent sized one.

"What are they?" Alice and I asked at the same time, equally excited to hear about them.

"I didn't see them all, but on one arm, there was something like fire coming down his left arm and wrapping around his elbow. And there's one on his right arm, that actually looks as though it started on his neck, wrapping around his right arm and going down to his wrist."

"What is it?" I asked her and she thought for a moment.

"You know that music paper, with the lines on it?" She asked, motioning in the air as the three of us started to stretch out along with the rest of the squad.

"A musical stave, yeah." I clarified and she nodded.

"Well, it's that and it has notes travelling all the way down it as well." She smiled as she thought of it and I couldn't help wondering if Tanya was on something at the moment.

"Sounds hot." Alice noted and I nodded. Hell, if this guy was as hot as Tanya said _and_ had tattoos, then she would be out of the way. Because no one stands in the way of Bella Swan when she wants something.

"Oh and did I mention, the piercings?"

"No!" Alice and I turned to look at her, both of us in the middle of doing the splits.

"Well, he's got two on the right side of his mouth, just there." She pointed to the right corner of her bottom lip. "One in his right eyebrow, a bar thing going across the top of his left ear and one in there of his right." She pointed to the tragus of her right ear. Hmmm . . . sounds hotter by the moment.

"Well, we can go over the complete inventory of what piercings Mr. New Kid has after practise." I clapped my hands indicating for everyone to get up. "Let's go, guys."

*~*~*

Practise went as well as could be expected and we'd made a lot of progress by the time lunch came around. We only had one tumble today and that was when Garrett was a beat off and missed Lauren's foot on the two-to-one pyramid. Other than that it went well.

Alice, Rosalie and I filed into lunch, seeing that Lauren, Tanya, Jessica, Mike, Tyler and Jasper were already seated and chatting about, what seemed to be the highlight of conversation today: the new kid.

"Where are Emmett and Jacob?" Rosalie asked, sitting down next to Alice who had parked herself next to Jasper, as to be expected.

"They're off grabbing the new kid." Mike explained. "You know, before he makes the devastating choice of, where do I sit in the cafeteria." Everyone laughed at that, because everyone knew it was essential to sit in the right place in the cafeteria. Where you sat depended on what crowd you were in. And we definitely didn't want the new kid to be sucked into one of the nerd crowds, such as the one Eric Yorkie headed. I frowned thinking about Yorkie. He was fun to mess with, but not as much fun as Edward Cullen had been. Now he was just hilarious to get to. Some of his reactions had been priceless.

I looked up as the doors opened to reveal Emmett and Jacob walking in. Emmett had his arm around the new kid and I couldn't see his face clearly, but I saw what Tanya meant about his hair. It was an odd colour. I wonder if he dyed it that colour to stand out.

They sat down at the table a few minutes later after what I assumed was Emmett lecturing him on the safety that wasn't the cafeteria food.

"And this is our table." I heard Emmett's booming voice and Jacob sat down next to me, flinging his arm across the back of my chair. I stiffened, wanting to tell him to move his arm, but I didn't want to start a scene in the middle of the cafeteria. _I_ was the one who knew everyone else's business. I didn't want everyone else knowing _my_ business. That was the way it worked. "Ed, this is Rose, Jazz, Alice, Mike, Ty, Lauren, Jess, you've met Tanya and this is Bella. Everyone, this Ed. He's the new kid." _Jeez Emmett, like we'd never know that if you didn't tell us._

I looked up at this 'Ed' and saw that Tanya had not adequately described him. He wasn't just gorgeous as she'd put it, he was _beautiful_. I know that's not really something that a guy wants to hear, but hey, if it's true, then it's true.

Lunch passed without incident, just as I knew that it would, the only new excitement being that the new kid, Ed, had a brand new Audi R8, that the guys seemed to go nuts over. Oh, and Rosalie of course. I could tell that she wanted to see under the hood of that thing. Not that it really mattered to me. I didn't understand anything about cars. That was one thing that I didn't really like about Jake. He was always talking about cars or football. And yeah, I get that I'm a cheerleader, but that does not mean I want to be talking about sports all the damn time. It seemed that Ed wasn't really paying attention when the other guys were talking about football either. He seemed to have a distant thoughtful look on his face, and I wondered if he missed wherever it was he had come from.

Before I had the chance to ask him though, the bell signalling the end of lunch rang and he was gone. He was gone so quickly, it was like he hadn't only been here for half a day. Like he had been here before.

Weird.

I said goodbye and made my way to Biology. I hated this class already and it was only the second day of school. Mr. Banner creeped me out. How the hell was I going to last all year with this class.

I looked up to the front of the class and saw something that might help get me through the year. Ed was standing at the front of the class and Mr. Banner was pointing towards my desk. The only empty desk left because I had literally death-glared at any of the freaks that tried to sit near me. There wasn't one of my friends in this class. Well, now there was. This was a perfect chance to make my move.

"Hmm. . ." I smiled at him as he approached the table. "My lucky day."

"What?" His entire body language seemed to change as the words left my mouth, as if they meant something to him. Something I was missing.

"Well," I shrugged, smirking at him. "Not everyone gets the new kid as their biology partner, do they?"

He shrugged at my response and I knew that he wasn't going to be easy to crack. I could handle a hard nut though – pun most definitely intended. "Also the new kid has already done AP Biology in his old school." _Well, gorgeous _and_ has brains. Who would've thought?_

"Where did you live before you moved here?" I asked, hoping to find out some things that no one else had about this mysterious new boy that had moved to our town, causing a stir. Alright, I was being nosy. Got a problem?

"Chicago." He replied and I waited for him to elaborate, but I didn't get one, so I knew I was going to have to press a little harder.

"You miss it there." _Of course he does you nimrod! He's just been moved thousands of miles away from his home. You'd miss it too if that happened to you._

"Yeah." Was his only answer.

What the hell? He obviously knew who I was around the school, because even after a day, people knew about me. I was the head cheerleader. I was in charge of the social order at Forks High. I didn't like you, then you were at the bottom. Like that loser Edward Cullen. Freak.

This guy was definitely Swan-worthy and I would have to tell Tanya to back off. That he was mine. She wouldn't be able to argue with me, because she wanted to keep her spot in our group. Seeing as I was the one who dictated who was in and who was out, she wouldn't argue with me. And this guy was definitely _in_. We'd have to spruce up his fashion sense a little, but that would be no problem for Alice. Of course we would let him leave the piercings in, because they were just hot.

I had to get this guy interested in me, because Bella Swan does not do desperate. "What do you miss most about Chicago?" I asked and he started at my question. I had leaned closer to him as not to draw attention to our conversation. Banner was boring the hell out of everyone yapping on about cells so everyone was practically asleep anyway.

"My friends." He replied shortly his tone a little different to what it had been before. Well, soon he's going to have new friends and he'll forget all about those losers in Chicago.

"I guess that's what I'd miss if I had to move away." But would I really? I don't know. It's not like any of the people I actually hang around with know the real me, do they? They don't know why I do the things that I do. They don't know why I behave the way that I do. Hell, when they were talking about that loser Edward Cullen at lunch, they didn't know why I used to treat him the way I did. But that's not something I was going to think about now. He was long gone. And Ed was here. I needed to focus on him, because I was going to get that piece of man meat.

I spent the rest of the class silently appraising him through the corner of my eye. He was tall as Tanya had said, probably about six foot two. Not overly muscled, more like a basketball player than a football player. Not as high up on the school ladder but still extremely desirable. Maybe I could get him to try out for the team. Gently persuade him as it were.

I had never found piercings too attractive before, but maybe that was because it had been on Jake. He had seen something about getting pierced and inked and had gotten his lip done, right in the centre. It didn't look good. I told him to take it out and never wear it again. He did without any arguments. He never really divulged why he got it done, but I couldn't really care less.

But on this Ed, piercings looked incredible. With the two in the bottom right hand corner of his mouth, and his eyebrow and the bar thing going through the top of his ear, I couldn't help wondering if there were any more we didn't know about.

As I looked him over, I noticed that there was a small scar on the side of his head just above his eyebrow. I could have sworn I knew that scar. Something was telling me that I _did_ know that scar, but I had just packed it away with all the other crap I wanted to forget and well, forgotten about it.

Thinking about that damned scar got me through last period and had me even more confused than before.

"Wait, what is she doing?" Rose asked quietly and pointed to where Tanya was leaning against the Audi that Ed had said was his.

"Isn't that the new kid, um, Ed's car?" Alice asked, although she knew full well that it was.

"Yeah." I nodded, and we stopped to watch what would transpire between Tanya and Ed. I reminded myself to tell her to pack it in. Because _I_ wanted him.

"She's gonna be in trouble." Rose smirked as she watched him approached his car, his movements lithe and panther-like. There was a fluidity to his movements that I hadn't seen before, what with his jacket flung over his shoulder and his black messenger back moving with his legs and whacking against his firm ass with each step. Hmmmm . . . . Anyway, focus.

"Why do you say that, Rose?" Alice asked her, breaking me out of my ogle Ed moment.

"Because all Audi drivers are the same." She explained, sounding professional in an instant. I loved that about Rose. She could see like the bitchy airhead of the group – which in actual fact, Tanya was the airhead, closely followed by Lauren and Jessica – but that was just a ploy to make people insecure in their opinions of her. She was really quite intelligent. Especially when it came to cars. "They like to drive fast and they _hate_ anyone sitting on, leaning on or doing whatever with their car. Some of them can be pretty anal about their cars. I've noticed it."

"Wow." We watched as he opened the door as Tanya spoke to him and got part of the way in. He said something pretty sharpish to her and she stood up. I could see what Rose meant about some being anal about their cars. And I could also see what she meant about driving fast. As soon as he closed the door he was out of the parking lot and around the corner faster than I had seen anyone drive.

"That's an R8 for you." Rose sighed as Tanya walked over to us, seeming slightly downtrodden but still scheming. "Get blown off again?" Rose asked in the most unsympathetic voice I'd ever heard.

"Don't worry. I'll get him soon enough." She smirked, seeming sure of himself.

"Actually no, you won't." I told her and she straightened up, her mouth dropping open.

"What?" She gasped in disbelief. "Why not? Are you saying that he could say no to me for too long?"

"No." I shook my head, smiling at how dumb this girl was. But she was amusing to keep around. "What I'm saying is, you won't be going after him anymore."

"And why is that?" Ooh, getting brave, are we?

"Because he's _mine_." I smirked at her and her face fell, knowing that if I wanted him then she would have to give up or else risk being at the bottom of the social food chain. She'd seen what I'd do to people at the bottom, and that wasn't somewhere she wanted to be.

She didn't say anything, but just huffed and stormed off, getting in her car and driving away. I could tell that she was put out and wanted Ed for herself. But I didn't care. I wanted him. And _I_ was going to have him.

"So, got the hots for the new boy, huh?" Alice grinned at me and Rosalie smirked knowingly.

"He has potential." I told the two of them and they nodded, approvingly. "He's a little rough around the edges, but we'll get those smoothed out in no time."

"Definitely." Alice nodded. "Anyway, my mom wants to go shopping. Something about a formal dinner party she has to attend with my dad in Seattle. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

"My dad wants Jazz and me home. Later."

The three of us split off into our different cars, all heading in the same direction to begin with, but branching off into different roads the further away we got. Rose and Alice didn't understand why I had a truck instead of a little car like they had. My answer was that a little zippy car wasn't me and that I wanted something big and hulking. Just because. It wasn't that I didn't like Alice and Rosalie's cars because they were nice, but the truck was more me.

I pulled into the driveway, cursing my parents because their cars took up all the space in the garage. Why they couldn't have added to the garage, rather than expanding the driveway I didn't know. It would have made things so much easier. For me at least.

Both of my parents were home, which wasn't surprising, seeing as I learned from Charlie that he had a day off from the station today and my mother was always home at this time anyway. She didn't need to work. As long as my father's eye for stocks and shares kept on the ball, she was a kept woman. He had the sense to put a load of the money into bonds and investments should the stock market crash as it had done. We didn't need to worry. My dad had even told me that we had enough so that I would never have to work and could still maintain the lifestyle I had now. Which wasn't too shabby if I do say so myself.

"Isabella." I heard my mom call me from the sitting room.

"Yes, Mom." I hated it when she called me Isabella, but I'd learned to live with it. She said it was a lot more feminine than just Bella, so that was what she would be calling me from now on.

"We're going over to the Cullens' for dinner tonight." I stopped in my tracks. Did she just say _Cullens?_

"Wait." I held my hand up, sitting down on the sofa. "The Cullens?"

"Yes." She nodded, smiling widely. "They're back. I ran into Esme in the store today. I do say, being away from this place certainly seems to have done her good."

"So they're back for good?" I asked, wanting complete clarification from her.

"Yes." She nodded again, not seeing where I was going.

"What about Edward?" I asked, trying to seem nonchalant but by mom smirked at me, as though she knew something was going on. I knew that she had the wrong end of the stick and thought that I liked him. Of course, I was just happy because I had my favourite playgeek back in Forks.

"I don't know." She mused, probably thinking over her conversation with Esme. "She didn't mention him. I don't know if he came back with them. She didn't mention when he was back in school or anything, which I guess she would have, wouldn't she? Maybe he's in boarding school somewhere. I do remember her saying before they left that he wasn't happy here. That he felt like he didn't fit in." _Because he was a geek and a freak, that's why. _"We'll find out tonight, won't we?"

I nodded, standing up and making my way up to my room. I flopped down on my bed and sent Alice a text.

_To: Pix  
From: Bell_

_Guess who's back in town._

_3_

Her reply was immediate.

_To: Bell  
From: Pix_

_Who? Who? Who?  
Tell me, tell me, tell me._

_3_

I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, but I was confused as to why she didn't know about this. Alice normally knew about everything.

_To: Pix  
From: Bell_

_The Cullens._

I wasn't surprised when Shopaholic by Verbz started playing on my phone. I should have known that she would call rather than text back.

"Are you serious?" Was the first thing that came through the receiver.

"Well, Renee says we're going over to theirs for dinner tonight." I told her and she laughed into the phone.

"Finally, _someone_ will get to see the elusive Cullen mansion." I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. My parents had been for meals at the Cullens house before, but I was always doing something else, so I hadn't seen it, and apparently, the drive to the house was so concealed that you could barely find it when you _did_ know where it was in the middle of the day. So finding it when you didn't know where it was was nigh on impossible.

"Oh, yes." I giggled down the phone.

"What about Edward?" I could hear the smirk in her voice and I knew what was going through her mind. On the outside, Alice looks sweet and unassuming, but hell, she could be as evil as me or Rose. And she had the innocent look on her side, so she was the last to be suspected.

"Renee said that Esme didn't bring him up in conversation, which is weird." She hummed in agreement. "Renee thinks that he's still wherever they went at some boarding school or something."

"That sucks." She whined and I knew that she had been looking forward to having our little geek playtoy back as well.

"Tell me about it." I sighed and rolled over onto my front, grabbing a magazine and flipping through it.

"Anyway, enough about the loser." I could practically see her waving the subject away. "What about this new kid, Ed?" Funny how the names were similar, huh? Edward and Ed. Meh, coincidence. I didn't mention this to Alice. She would have thought it was weird and laughed at me. "He something you're interested in?"

"Definitely." I grinned and she giggled.

"I wonder how Jacob's going to take it." She mused and I knew that she was looking for something to wind him up with. She didn't like Jacob and made no secret about it.

"Why should I care?" I continued to flip through the magazine. "I mean, it's not like we're together anymore, is it?"

"He obviously thinks that there's a chance you will be getting back together." She was right and I hated it. Jake didn't seem to get the idea that we were done. Over. Fin. "I mean, come on, the guy went out and bought a black version of your truck, for Christ's sake."

"Trying too hard, is all." I sighed, jumping off my bed. "He'll get the picture soon enough."

"Especially when you have _Ed_ wrapped around your baby finger." She giggled and I couldn't help but giggled along with her.

"Well, hopefully that won't take too long." I walked around my room, twirling a piece of my hair around my finger. "Though he wasn't very talkative, was he?"

"Probably just overwhelmed with being in a new place." She sighed and I heard some rustling on the other end of the line, meaning that she was still out shopping with her mom. That woman was worse than Alice, which is a hard feat. But hey, she had to have got it from someone, right? "Did you find out where he was from?"

"Yeah. He's from Chicago."

"Well, is it any wonder he's freaked?" She asked in a tone that said, 'duh, wake up Bella'. "He's from a big city, where you see people you don't know every day. Now he's been dumped in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Got to be weird for him."

"True." I nodded, looking out my window at the dense wood that surrounded my house. "Anyway, soon he'll forget all about Chicago and realise that moving here was the best thing his parents could have done."

"Have a plan, do we?" Alice asked a sneaking lilt to her tone.

"Not as such. I'm going to play it by ear and then _gently_ mould him to what he should be." I told her.

"Sounds like a good plan." She agreed and of course it was. I'd come up with it,

"_Isabella!"_ I heard Renee calling up the stairs. "_We're going now, darling."_

"I gotta go." I told Alice and she sighed.

"Alright. Tell me how it goes with Geekazon."

"Definitely." I hung up the phone and went downstairs, not being bothered to change at all, seeing as it was only the Cullens' we were going to. Wasn't some excuse to get dressed up now was it? "Let's go."

"Is that what you're wearing?" Renee's nose crinkled slightly at my outfit.

"Yes, Mom." I sighed, rolling my eyes, making Charlie chuckle. "It's not like we're going to the White House for dinner."

She rolled her eyes at my obvious dislike for her evaluation of me. One that was constantly going on. Either I was too thin, or had put on too much weight. My clothes weren't up to date with the latest fashions in London and Paris – when of course, they were. She seemed to have something to complain about when it came to me. Honestly, if she didn't complain there was something wrong with her.

We climbed into Charlie's Mercedes and he pulled out of the driveway. I don't know what I was expecting from the drive but apparently the Cullens' lived in the middle of nowhere with a mile long driveway. At least now, we would have some idea of where it actually was, in case little Eddie Cullen has come back. This was turning out to be a pretty good day.

When Charlie turned off into the Cullen driveway I saw what he meant about not being able to find it if you didn't know where it was. It really was hidden. And . . . long. Maybe what they'd said about it was true. That it really was a mile long driveway.

We pulled up to the house and I couldn't help but feel my jaw drop. If I'd thought my house was big – which it undoubtedly was – this was _huge_. Maybe we _were_ eating at the White House after all and I just hadn't noticed the length of the drive.

Well, the house was white, for starters. It looked modern and yet strangely Victorian at the same time. It was an odd combination, but it totally worked. One side of the house was made completely of glass for all three storeys; the only thing breaking up the enormous window was the frames running through the wall, meeting with where the different floors in the house were. I worked out that there were three floors to the house and the possibility of a basement. I wasn't sure about that one, so I didn't worry about it too much. I wondered how many bedrooms this place had. Maybe I would be able to find out tonight. I wanted to be able to have a bit of a snoop. Just because that's who I am and what I do.

We walked up to the house and Charlie rang the doorbell. We didn't have to wait long for the door to be opened by a smiling Esme who leaped into Renee's arms as Charlie and I skirted around them, being ushered into the house by a chuckling Carlisle. He and Charlie exchanged pleasantries, shaking hands and smiling at each other as friends who hadn't seen each other for years did.

But I couldn't see the one person that I wanted to. "So, where's Edward?" I asked and Esme turned away from Renee, looking out towards where I guessed the rest of the house was.

"He should be down in a minute." She smiled at me, walking towards the doorway and up the slight step that lead there. "I'll go and get him."

"Bella, how come you didn't mention him before?" _Wait, what? Me! _I_ was supposed to have mentioned him. Why didn't I get that memo._ "When is he back at school?"

"He started back today." Esme clarified as she made her way towards the stairs. _Wait, today?! WTF? _"Edward." I heard Esme sigh as she rounded the corner. Seems like geeky has finally made an appearance. Since when did he start back today? I would have definitely noticed that. "Where have you been? Our guests are here."

"I hear that." I heard him reply, his voice not sounding as it had when he'd left, but familiar all the same.

"I thought I said smart-casual." I heard Esme scold hi slightly in the same tone that Renee often reserved for when she didn't approve of my fashion choices. Like she knew what she was talking about. She got all of her advice from me after all.

"Right. The shirt makes it smart and rolled up sleeves is casual. Embodies what you wanted, doesn't it?" That's funny. I don't remember geek boy ever talking like that to . . . well, _anyone._ Maybe he was different at home. Nah! Couldn't see that.

"Smartass." I heard Esme laugh as she walked back into the foyer. I heard her heels clicking past me.

"I know." Was his innocent reply. I couldn't help but smile at his response. It seems that geek boy has grown some balls. At least with his parents anyway.

"Bella." Renee's elbow nudged my arm lightly and she nodded to something behind me. "Say hello to Edward." Her eyes held something that I wasn't used to with Renee. It looked like surprise. Weird.

At least I had my playtoy back. I turned around, being sure to let him know that just because he'd been away for two years, didn't mean we'd forgotten about him. It only meant that we had two years worth of games to catch up on. And catching up was something I planned to do. Starting tonight.

I froze when I took in who was standing there in the doorway, smirking at me. It was the new kid from school. Ed.

"Hello, Isabella." How did he know my full name? It hadn't been used in front of him today. I had been introduced and addressed as Bella. Not Isabella.

You had to be kidding me. The new kid was Edward fucking Cullen. The guy that my group had become so enamoured with at lunch today. And he hadn't said a word. Not that I could blame him mind you. But still, it would have been nice to reminisce with him, don't you think. But how . . .? How could _Edward Cullen_ have turned into . . . _this?_ I mean, it just wasn't possible. But it had to be. Because he was standing in front of me, right now, a smirk on his face. A face that might I had had skin smooth enough for television. He didn't have his glasses anymore and I noticed that his eyes were a bright green. Didn't know that before. His bottle-top glasses were always in the way.

"Hello_ Edward_." I tried to put as much venom and dislike into my words as possible, but all that seemed to do was amuse him.

He stepped down the step he had been standing on, sauntering his way across the foyer and past me, stopping briefly next to me. I could feel the heat of his body and smell the delicious scent of him. It didn't seem artificial. It smelled just like . . . well, him. "You really should find out more about people before inviting them to join your group." He whispered and I stiffened, feeling the heat of his breath on my neck. You've got to be kidding me. I couldn't be feeling this way. About a _geek_. Though, I don't think he could really be classed as a geek anymore, could he? I mean, he doesn't look like a geek at all. He's most definitely not geek criteria when it comes to appearance. But what about personality? In my experience geeks and nerds, don't have them. Or they're so boring and bland there's just never any point. Like that Yorkie freak. All he ever talks about is some dungeon game that I'm not even going to go into. Apparently Jake knew someone who could hack into his account and had changed all of his criteria or whatever. That was funny when he sat there fuming the next day because he couldn't get into his account. It still wasn't as fun as tormenting little Eddie though. Which could now resume.

Dinner was . . . well, dinner. Edward didn't say much to anyone, clearly not happy that we had been placed next to each other. I, on the other hand, thought that it would be the best time to start the wind-up Eddie game we all used to play. If he was taught before school tomorrow, then there was a good chance he would snap sooner, which was always fun to see.

"So, Edward." I looked over at him, getting nothing but a hum in response. Git didn't even look at me when I spoke to him. He should really remember who he's sitting next to, shouldn't he? "How come you didn't tell us who you were at lunch today?" I asked, knowing exactly why he didn't. Because he didn't want it to be like it used to be. Sorry, Eddie. Not going to happen. It's going to be a lot worse.

"You never asked." He replied, a smirk on his face as he looked up at me. If he thought that he was going to psych _me_ out, then he was one hundred per cent wrong. Count on that.

"Don't you think that's kind of rude?" I asked, making my tone all innocent as I continued to move my food around my plate, so I didn't have Renee drawing attention to me, as she always did. "I mean, we all thought you were new. And you didn't have the decency to tell us that you weren't. Only that you were a returning student. We wouldn't have brought you up at lunch if we'd known." _No, we would have made you bring up _your_ lunch._

"No." He chuckled, placing his fork on his plate and shaking his head slightly. "I could only imagine the welcome I'd get if you'd known I was coming back." _Could you really?_ "Not something I'm interested in. Excuse me." I guess he didn't realise that whether or not he was interested in it, it was something he'd have to deal with.

He stood up and made his way out through a doorway. I heard a door slide open and closed and decided to follow him as his mom started to apologise for his behaviour. It was kind of weird. Geek boy was never that up front. Maybe he _had_ grown some balls in Chicago. Not that they'd do him any good here.

"So," I opened the door to find him standing there, his back to me, leaning on the railing that surrounded three quarters of the house, along with the decking on the outside of the house. I also noticed the stream of white smoke that was clouding around his head every so often. "You think that just because you've got some tattoos, piercings and smoke, you're not the same little geek you were when you left?" He didn't acknowledge my presence behind him, which was just rude, if you ask me.

"Shut the fucking door." He mumbled after a minute before another cloud of smoke slipped from his lips. "It was shut or a reason."

"Right." I slid the door closed and step towards him. He obviously didn't want his parents to hear that he was being chewed out by a girl. The daughter of his mother's best friend at that. Who knows what he'd get if they knew that. Maybe they'd even think that he liked me and that's why he put up with me. I was sure he hated me. And I wanted him to. "Don't want Mommy and Daddy to hear?"

"No." I scoffed in response. "With the door open the smoke goes into the fucking house. Or was that too obvious for you to realise?" What the hell? Was he saying that I was stupid? He must have thought that I was thick or something. And since when did he speak like that to . . . anyone. "What?" He slowly, lazily turned to face me, taking another drag of his cigarette and I couldn't deny it was one of the sexiest things I'd ever seen. What the hell? Did I just say that the former school geek was . . . _sexy_? "Not expecting me to talk back? Expecting that same little geek that left two years ago?" Would he blow up if I said yes? "Newsflash Bella: He's gone. You were right?" _About what?_ "That Edward was a pathetic loser but then again, it's good to know that he's not here anymore, isn't it?"

I didn't want to let him on to how glad I was that geeky Edward wasn't here anymore, and that this new Edward was in his place. "Right." I tried to play off what he'd said, not really sure how it was coming off. "No one ever really changes, _Eddie._" I knew that he hated that name, which was why we used it. "You're still that same geek. You always will be. No matter how much you don't want to be, you'll always be a geek."

"Whatever you say, Bella." _Wait, what? _That had _not_ been the answer I was expecting. He was admitting that he was still a geek? Well, it looked like this was going to be a lot simple – and a lot less fun – than I thought it would. "But you know what that means, don't you?" He had started walking towards me, smoke escaping from in between his lips with every word he spoke, and I couldn't deny that it was making my knees feel like goo as he placed a hand either side of me, leaning in to whisper something in my ear. "That means you'll always be a two-faced bitch, with no real friends. Have fun with that." What the fuck did he think he was talking about?! The bastard. How dare he question my friendships when he didn't have any here himself. He smirked at my silent response to his words, but didn't allow me to say anything back to him. "The Edward you used to know might have rolled over and taken everything your little horde threw at him, but me. No, no. no." He shook my head in a mocking way. "_I_ am nothing like the Edward you used to know. _I_ fight back. And believe me, it doesn't matter that you're a girl. Fuck with me and I _will_ give as good as I get. So here's a little tip: Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me. Little girl."

He pushed away from me and sauntered back into the house, a smirk on his face.

I didn't follow him in, pulling out my cell and pressing speed dial two. Alice picked up after the first ring.

"Bella!" She squealed at me, obviously hyper off of something. Was she high again? I hoped not after the last time. "How's it going at geek central?"

"That's just it." I said quietly, not wanting mine or Edward's parents to hear me on the phone. "Wait. Who's there?" I asked, hearing some kind of ruckus in the background.

"Oh, just Em, Rose, Jazz and Jake. You know, the usual." I could hear the fact that she was shrugging in her tone and thought that this was a perfect opportunity.

"Put me on speakerphone." I told her. She started to question me, but I told her to do it anyway and she did, probably completely high and confused. "Am I on speaker?" A round of 'Hi Bella' told me that I was. "You guys have no idea what I've found out."

"What?" Rosalie asked, sounding completely bored. Which knowing her, she was.

"Well, you know that the Cullens' are back in town?"

"What?!"

"No!"

"Oops."

The last one was from Alice who knew that she was supposed to tell the others about something like this. When we found out something huge like this, we always told Alice so that she would tell the others. She was the worst at keeping secrets, so it made sense.

"Alice, I'll deal with you tomorrow." I told her and I heard her sigh. "Yes, the Cullens are back."

"Since when?" That came from Jasper, who didn't sound as excited as the rest of us, but then again, he'd never really seen why we were cruel to Edward. Ever the pacifist was Jazz.

"I don't know." I shrugged as I started pacing on the decking outside the Cullens' house. "My mom ran into Esme today when she was out shopping."

"So the geekazon is back." I heard Emmett sing with glee. He had always enjoyed humiliating Edward. More so than I did, actually. I always wondered about that.

"Actually, no." I said slowly and they all went quiet on the other end.

"You don't mean that your mom's guess was right and he's in boarding school?" Alice questioned sounding disbelieving, which wasn't surprising because Renee's guesswork could do with a lot of improvement. And I mean a _lot._

"No."

"Then what?" That voice was Jacob. He was sounding as confused as everyone else and I knew that this news would get them all going.

"Well, you remember that new kid that sat with us today?" I hoped they would get it through those words.

"O. M. F. G!" Rosalie and Alice had got it and I heard a couple of 'no ways' as the words sunk into the guys minds. "Are you serious?"

"Well, he was the one I had to sit next to at dinner. With Mommy Esme and Daddy Carlisle. It's him. He's back and I hate to say it, but I don't think he's a geek anymore."

"Maybe not." Emmett's voice laughed, booming into my ear. "But he's still going to be fun to play with."

"I don't know guys." I bit my lip. Something I hadn't done in years. "I don't think he's the same as he was. Sure he was fun to mess with then, but something tells me this new Edward isn't going to be much fun." I thought back to the words he'd spoken to me before he'd sauntered back into the house. Would he really get me back if I did anything to him? He'd said that it didn't matter that I was a girl. Did it really not. Would I push him that far. My decision was easy to make.

Yes.

Yes, I would.

Purely because a chance to piss of the ever geeky Edward Cullen was not something I could give up. I could not and would not pass it up.

"Look, Renee's calling my inside, I've got to go." I told them as Renee saw me from where she was in the house and waved at me to get off the phone and go in. I hung up and walked back into the house.

"I swear, you need surgically removing from that phone." Renee grumbled and Esme laughed as she came down the stairs.

"Don't worry." She ran an arm down Renee's in a friendly way as she passed her. "Edward's the same. I've just had to practically wrestle him off of his."

"Well, it's different for him, isn't it?" Renee looked at Esme who looked up at her, expecting an elaboration, I'm sure. "I mean, all his friends are in Chicago. He must miss them."

"He does." She nodded, looking down at the plates in her hands. "He really came into his own there. Of course, I could have done without the piercings and tattoos, but they're just him finding out who he is. And I will say, that the one on his back is incredible."

"Really?" Renee's eyes went wide which surprised me. She hated tattoos with a passion. She kept telling me that if I ever got one, I would be out of the house faster than I could say 'no allowance' – which I hadn't gotten in about three years because I had my own credit card to do whatever I wanted with anyway. "What is it?"

"Oh, wait." Esme held up a finger and walked out of the room, coming back in a moment later with a laptop in her hands. She placed it down gently on the table and started it up. "Carlisle took some photographs of it, because he actually loves all types of art and everything like that, though he wasn't too impressed about it being on his son, but we can't change that now, can we?"

She plugged in the password and clicked around for a second. I actually found myself _wanting_ to see what Edward had on his back. It had to be pretty extravagant to get Esme's seal of approval.

"Here we are." She pressed one more button before turning the laptop around to face us and I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped my mouth.

It was Edward's back, but it wasn't what all the guys had told me about him being thin and weedy from gym two years ago. It was muscled, defined in all the right areas just as his outfit today had shown. His shoulders were broad and the biceps of his arms that hung by his side were well defined, showing obvious strength. Even though it was just his back, he was gorgeous and I knew that I would definitely be getting it if anyone found out I was thinking that.

But the art that adorned his back was incredible. Just as the canvas was. The tiger and the dragon seemed to be moving around his muscles, making their way up and down his back in the easiest way possible. The night sky that created the canvas for the yin yang, tiger and dragon was incredible, the detail going into the clouds and stars that littered his shoulders and the small of his back, where it obviously dipped under the waistline of the jeans he was wearing in the photograph. Is it really bad that I wanted to see the actual art for myself, and dare I say . . . lick it? That's just gross. Right?

"Incredible, isn't it?" Esme breathed breaking me out of my licking Edward's back fantasy that didn't actually seem so gross anymore.

"What's incredible?" I heard a voice from the doorway and looked up to see him standing there, leaning against the doorframe.

"The tattoo on your back." Esme clarified, standing up and smiling at him.

"Why are you looking at that?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Well we were talking and the subject got onto your back tattoo and I wanted to show it to Renee and Bella. I thought they should see it, especially since I'm so bad at describing things." She explained and he shrugged.

"Why didn't you just ask me?" His eyes were glittering devilishly as he smirked at me. Did he know what I had been thinking as I'd been looking at the picture? He couldn't have done.

"What do you mean?" Renee asked, completely confused as Edward shook his head and turned around, taking off his shirt to reveal a black wife beater underneath. I could see the shoulders of the tattoo, able to see the whole thing as he removed the wife beater.

It looked even more incredible than it had in the picture. With him standing there the ink clearly visible, it looked as though the tiger and dragon were 3D, as though they were coming off of his skin, ready to attack each other without a moment's warning.

He turned around, pulling the wife beater over his head and I could have sworn I saw something on his chest glinting in the light, but it was so brief that I must have been imagining it.

"Well," Renee cleared her throat, looking pointedly at me as I turned to look at her. "We should be heading off now. Edward, that tattoo is incredible."

"Thanks." He nodded, smirking at me again as he slipped his shirt back on, not doing it up again. He made his way over to me and I didn't move, not knowing what to do. He took hold of my hand gently and brought it up to his lips, gently brushing them against the back of my hand, the warmth of his lips contrasting greatly with the cold steel of the rings in his lip. He looked up at me with a smirk. A smirk that I didn't trust. He was playing with me. Playing the game I had set in motion more than seven years ago. And at the moment, he was winning. And he goddamn knew it as well. "See you at school tomorrow, Bella." The way he said my name made me gulp audibly as though there was something behind it. Some secret that I was supposed to know.

I followed Renee outside, to where Carlisle and Charlie were standing, leaning against the car talking about some guy stuff together. I didn't know what they were on about and I really didn't care.

I climbed into the car and looked back up at the house to find Esme standing on the porch waving to us and Edward in the doorway behind us, that same smirk on his face as he watched my parents get in the car and us reverse down the driveway.

"Well, that was nice, wasn't it?" Renee was always so bubbly and upbeat all the time but it was a surprise to hear Charlie respond with the same amount of enthusiasm as she did. "You know, Esme and I were thinking that we could get together once a week. You know, one week we come to their house, the next week they come to ours. What do you think, Bella?" I hummed in response, not really listening to whatever it was she was prattling on about. I was trying to focus on where this new, bolder Edward had come from.

And what was his weakness?

If he had any.

**I know it's pretty much Bella's view on the day, but I felt it needed to be shown what she was thinking throughout the day when it came to the new kid and the dinner at the Cullens. We'll be moving on and back to Edward in the next chapter. If you want one that is.**

**What do you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Noey, noey no no no. Not mine. All Stephenie's . . . still. Can't catch a break. :( **

**Sorry that this has taken so long. Again, thanks to synapsegirl for allowing me to post this. Love ya, girl.**

_**5**__**th**__** September 2009**_

_**Edward**_

Pulling up to school, I smirked thinking back to the dinner we'd had last night. Bella really hadn't know how to deal with the 'new me' as my mom kept calling it. Well, I guess after spending sixteen years as a stumbling, fumbling geek, being how I was now could be considered new. To the people in this town, at least.

I knew that Bella had been on the phone to her friends when Renee had called her in from the porch. Why else would she have been out there still? In all fairness, when my mom came to tell me that they were leaving, I was on the phone, but hey, _they_ called _me_, alright? I got back up to my room to see my phone buzzing with an incoming call.

It had been James.

Picking it up, I couldn't help slipping back into how I had been in Chicago, able to laugh and joke with him even though I was thousands of miles away. After I hung up, I felt alone again. Even though I had my mom and my dad here with me, they didn't understand. They had friends here, hence the fact that we had Renee, Charlie and Bella over for dinner tonight, but me on the other hand. Well, I think you get the idea.

The best part of the evening had to have been psyching Bella out before she left though. I could feel the flush of her skin on her hand and see it on her face. She was completely stunned.

What she had definitely not been expecting was for me to actually _show _her and her mother the tattoo my mom had been showing them pictures of on her laptop. My dad was into all kinds of art and even though he had been pissed when he realised that I'd gotten it done, he thought it was incredible and wanted some pictures. So I thought why not? I could tell from Bella's shocked expression that she had not been expecting that, and I didn't miss the way her eyes flicked to my chest as I put the wife beater back on over my head. She'd noticed the bars running through my nipples, but I wasn't sure if she had registered what they were. From the look on her face, I'd say not.

In all honesty, I hadn't been planning the kiss on the hand thing. It just struck me then and there that it would be a good idea as a way of freaking her out and reinforcing what I had said out on the porch. I _would_ be fighting back, and she had to know this.

Something told me she got that message loud and clear.

I climbed out of the car, my smirk still in place as I saw that whole group standing around Bella's truck. Seeing that I had a good five minutes or so before the first warning bell rang, I leaned against the hood of my car and sparked up a cigarette. I hated smoking in the car, so I'll always wait until I get somewhere before I have one. Either that or having one before I leave. Works either way.

I just don't want the smell to seep into my interior. Nothing worse than a car that smells like the inside of an ashtray. I might be a smoker, but still, that shit made _me_ heave. James would always smoke in his car and get pissy when I wouldn't let him light up in mine. It doesn't work like that, buddy. There is no smoking in my baby.

I knew they were all watching me as I stood there, probably trying to work out how to approach me, but hey, that was their problem. Bella had obviously told them who I was. There was no doubt about that.

I stubbed out my cigarette just as the first warning bell went, making my way inside and to my first class. History. Great fun. Especially knowing that I had History with Tanya, who had probably been informed of who I was.

I sat down in my seat, just as the final bell went, and everyone else started pouring in. I was sitting there, trying to work out some of the finer details of a new design that I wanted with suddenly a football appeared on my desk. It was standing straight up, so I knew that someone was holding it there. Rolling my eyes, I looked up to find Mike Newton standing there, staring at me, disbelief in his eyes.

"There's no way you're fucking Cullen." He muttered and I smirked, standing up, noticing that the teacher wasn't in the room yet.

"Believe it, Mike." I leaned forward on the desk in front of me, bringing myself down to Mike's height, seeing as I was now taller than him by a good four inches or so. "What? Not what you were expecting when Bella told you I was back in town. Let me guess, you were expecting the old glasses wearing, pimply, stumbling Edward, right? Sorry, but he's not here. And he won't be again. Now, I'm going to tell you exactly what I told Bella when she thought she could fuck with me last night. I am _not_ the Edward Cullen this town used to know. I am _not_ that geek anymore. And if you fuck with me, I _will_ give worse than I get, so don't even bother."

"It's going to be so good when Emmett and Jake find you." He smirked at me and I chuckled, not really caring that the rest of the class was watching.

"You think those two scare me?" I rolled my eyes at his idiocy. "Not fucking likely."

"Then you're an idiot." He chuckled as he started throwing his ball up in the air.

"No." I shook my head, smirking slowly at him. He stopped his movements, unnerved by my stare. "I've been living in Chicago for the last two years. You think that this sleepy little shithole compares with a city? I've dealt with worse."

Still smirking at him, I sat down. He looked as though he wanted to say something back to me, but at that moment, the teacher walked in, so effectively, that notion was stopped. It didn't stop him from giving me a dirty look – well, what he considered a dirty look anyway – before stomping off to his seat.

I was aware of his and probably the rest of the class's eyes on me all throughout the class and to say that it got a bit irritating after a while would be an understatement. As would saying that I was glad to get out of that room. I was fucking ecstatic to be leaving that class. For one, I hated History anyway, and to top it all off I had Tanya sitting there giving me suggestive smirks for the whole hour. Still not interested, bitch.

It was pretty much the same in all of my classes. Word had spread around pretty quickly – as it does in Forks – that the old geek Edward Cullen was back in town. And he wasn't much of a geek anymore.

I couldn't have been happier when lunch arrived. Thankfully, I didn't have to suffer through the crap that the cafeteria called food because my mom had given me the leftover lasagne from last night. That would go down nicely, even cold. I practically lived for my mom's cooking.

I sat down on one of the benches outside, knowing that I wouldn't be welcome back at the table I'd sat at yesterday now that they knew who I was, and pulled out the lasagne and the current issue of _Skin Deep_ magazine, scanning my way through the various designs and interviews they had going. It might have been a magazine from the UK but hey, some of the designs were fuckawesome. Enough to make one consider spending the flight and accommodation money purely to travel over there and get one done by some of these guys.

I sighed and resisted rolling my eyes when two large shadows blocked off the sunlight I was using to read an interview about three brothers who'd set up their own shop from nothing and looked up to see Emmett McCarty and Jacob Black glaring down at me.

"What?" I turned back to my magazine, flipping the page over. "Come to steal my lunch money?" I don't think they found that funny.

"What the fuck, _Cullen_?" The way Jacob said my name made it sound like a cuss word. Whatever.

"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate." I replied without looking up, taking another bite of my lunch relishing the taste of it in my mouth. Jeez, my mom sure can fucking cook.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart." Emmett said, resting two hands on the table in front of me, clearly trying to get my attention or freak me out. Or both. "Guess you're not any more, are you?"

"As far as I'm aware, my IQ is the same, meaning that I do outrank you two Neanderthals – probably put together – but no matter how smart a person is, if the one speaking to them doesn't elaborate on a question that has a very broad spectrum of answers, there is no way for that person to understand what they're trying to convey. Short of being a mind reader, that is." _Insult my intelligence, that's what you get._

"What?" They both looked dumbfounded and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Okay, I'll put it simply." I put my fork down and laced my fingers in front of me on the table, looking up at Emmett. "If you don't explain what the fuck you want, how the hell am I supposed to know?"

"You know what the hell we want." Jacob sneered back, clearly pissed. Two years ago, I might have been afraid of him, but now, after living in Chicago and seeing things that would be classed as a lot scarier than the dumbo twins, not so much. _"Cullen."_

"Oh." I pretended that I was only just realising what it was they were on about. "Bella told you, yeah?" They both smirked at me. "Big deal." I deadpanned, turning back to my magazine.

"What the fuck?" Jacob growled, his shadow starting to tremble across the table and I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You might want to see someone about that temper." I offered and he glared at me, still shaking.

"Now, what I want to know . . ." Emmett chuckled, ignoring Jacob and his little shivering fit. "Is why you didn't tell us you were back in town, huh? I mean, that would have been the decent thing to do."

"Decent thing?" I scoffed, looking up at him. "Like either of you – _any_ of your little fucked up group – can lecture anyone else on doing the 'decent thing'. Fucking hypocrite."

"What did you just call me?" He stood up straight, glaring down at me.

"I called you a fucking hypocrite, Emmett." I repeated, standing up. I might not have been as tall as him – who the fuck was apart from Jacob? – but I was taller than I had been, standing at six two and a half rather than the five seven I was when I left. "You think I should have told you who I was? Well, what a stellar idea, Emmett. I should have just introduced myself over the tannoy, should I? You know, make it a free for all. Who can get to Edward Cullen first? Who can have him feeling like the loser he was first? You think I should have done that? Maybe I should have set it as a challenge. You know, first person to humiliate Edward Cullen wins a prize." Every word that was coming out of my mouth was dripping with sarcasm that neither of them – no matter how dense they were – could miss, their faces identical masks of shock. Quite similar to Bella's last night. None of them were expecting me to bite back. "Get real, Emmett. Like I said to Bella last night and to Mike this morning: the Edward you lot used to fuck around with, is gone. Not coming back. Understand? He disappeared the moment he touched down in Chicago, so you know what? Fuck the hell off. He may have rolled over for your sad little group. Me, on the other hand? No. Not gonna happen. And the sooner you and your little group understand that, and leave me the fuck alone, the better off everyone will be. Because as I told Bella last night, I _will_ give as good as I get. Make no mistake about that." I was getting a little fucking tired of repeating myself. You would have thought with the town gossips – Alice and Jessica – in their group, they would learn to communicate this shit. Obviously not.

Finishing my little rant at the two of them, I grabbed the rest of my lunch, magazine and my bag and went inside, hearing the bell for the end of lunch ringing. _Biology. Great fun._

I walked into the class, seeing only Mr. Banner sitting at the front, reading through some journal or whatever it was he was reading. Nothing of interest to me. I made my way to the lab table I had to share with Bella, and sat down, pulling out the pad I had been drawing in earlier, looking over the design. Something wasn't quite right with it, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the fuck it was.

"That's pretty good." I heard someone say next to me. I turned to see Bella sitting in her seat, looking at the design, a resigned look of awe in her eyes. "Actually that's _really_ good."

"Thanks." I mumbled, putting the pad away as she turned to look at me.

"Did _you_ draw that?" She asked, disbelief in her voice.

"That I did." I replied stoically, facing the front.

"Didn't know you could draw." She said quietly, pulling out a pad of her own.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Bella." I looked at her, smirking as she sat there with a contemplative look on her face. "Oh, and if you could pass on the message for your little cronies to leave me the hell alone, that'd be great."

"I don't control what they do." She shot back and I snorted in response. Not very gentlemanly, but hey, screw manners.

"Right." I chuckled and she looked at me, her mouth open, looking as though she wanted to say something. Unfortunately for her though, Mr. Banner decided to start the class off at that moment.

"Right." He clapped his hands together, grinning around at the class as though he was going to announce that he'd just won the lottery and could retire early. "Starting from today, we have a project. It will take two months to complete and you are to do it in your assigned seating partnerships." _Fucking great. Now, I've got to see her outside of school as well._ "It will require a lot of outside school collaboration on your part." The way he looked at us when he said that made me uneasy and I felt Bella stiffen beside me as well. Glancing around the class, I noticed that everyone was looking a little anxious about what to expect. "The project will be focusing on sleep. Now, I know that this is a strange topic for us to be studying in Biology because the study of sleep is generally reserved for psychology, but it doing the study, we're going to be analysing how excess or lack of sleep can affect the biological processes of the human body. How it affects mood, appetite, all of those fun things." He looked around, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Now, this will require you to spend each night at your partners homes, and I want a full description of mood and such before and after sleep. In each class we will be going through the various chemicals that are released in the body to prepare for sleep, during sleep and upon awakening. Does everybody understand?" There was a murmured 'yes' throughout the class and he nodded, turning to the board at the front of the room, writing down various things we needed to know.

The rest of the class was a lecture on the project but he gave us a few minutes to discuss how we were going to work the project. This was going to be the worst two months of my life.

"So how are we going to do this?" Bella asked, a slightly smug tone to her voice.

"Don't know, don't really care." I replied, not looking at her.

"We have to pass this project." _Well, duh._

"No shit." I rolled my eyes at her. "Well, my house is bigger, why don't we start off there."

"Fair enough." She nodded, looking out the window. "I'll need to get past Charlie first though."

"What? Doesn't he trust you?" I snorted and she glared at me.

"Oh, it's not me he won't be trusting." She smirked at me. _What the fuck is _that_ supposed to mean?_ "It's you."

"And why is that?" I shot back, my tone as uninterested as I felt.

"Because you're a boy." She shrugged as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "But if he knew how innocent you are, then I'm sure that he wouldn't really object." I snorted again, just as the bell went and everyone stood up. I'd been packing my stuff away as she'd been talking so I put my jacket on and looked over at her as she packed her things away.

"Bella." I called, smirking at her and she looked up at me, a glint in her eye. "Just so you know, I haven't been 'innocent' in a _very_ long time."

Leaving her with that little snippet, I made my way into gym, preparing myself for the fuckery that was bound to come my way. Not like I wasn't used to it, but hey, whatever they wanted to dish out, I would give straight back to them.

And I did. Seeing as I had both Mike and Tyler in that class, they thought that it would be amusing to try and double team me when it came to the ball. Not a chance. I fucking drove them both into the ground. True they may be football players, but still, they should still be able to play basketball to a certain extent.

"Hey." I heard someone calling me as we all made our way into the changing rooms. I turned to see that it was Jasper jogging towards me. _Here we go again._ "Hang on." He slowed to a walk beside me, catching his breath. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to try out for the team?" He asked, looking at me as we walked.

"What?" I stopped and he stopped a pace or so in front of me, not expecting my sudden halt. "What did you just say?"

"I wanted to know if you were absolutely sure that you didn't want to try out for the team." He shrugged, smirking at me. "I mean, you were awesome out there today, man. I don't think I've seen anyone play like you before. Short of NBA that is."

"Who would've thought you were talking to the former geek of the school." I murmured as I started walking again.

He laughed, walking with me. "I don't give a shit about that. I never did. Honestly, I thought that it was completely shitty of them, what they used to do to you."

"Then why didn't you ever stop it?" I asked, turning to face him and he had an extremely guilty look on his face. I could tell that he did feel bad about what happened to me every day in this shithole, but that didn't excuse him never trying to stop it.

"I tried." I shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "But they didn't listen to me. The only times they did were when I reasoned with them that they'd get in major trouble with the school, their parents and possibly the police. But other than that, everything I said fell on deaf ears."

"Really?" I narrowed my eyes and he nodded, a sadness in his eyes – the same one that I'd noticed before I left, whenever he'd known that they were planning something for me – present in his eyes and I knew that he was being sincere in what he was telling me. "Look, man." I shook my head, releasing a breath. "It's forgotten, okay?" He gave me a small smile and I stuck my hand out. "Peace?"

"Peace." He grabbed my hand with his own, holding it for a few minutes before dropping it and the two of us resumed our walk into the changing rooms. "I really am sorry about everything that they did."

"It's forgotten." I shook my head as I changed. "Besides, it wasn't really you that did anything to me, was it? It was the others."

"Just to let you know, Alice feels bad about it all as well." He sighed, looking down at the ground.

"She does?" I knew that my tone was disbelieving as I gaped at him and he nodded. Alice had been right up there with Bella, Emmett, Jacob and Rosalie in tormenting me. But then again, now that I thought about it, she – like Jasper – had never been directly involved with those four. She had always been on the sidelines just as he had. Maybe there was some truth to his words about Alice as there most likely was about him.

"Yeah." He nodded, shrugging a little, a small smile on his face. "I know that it probably doesn't mean much but I'm sorry. She is, too. I know it'll sound better coming from her, but I'm playing the middle man at the moment." He held up his hands a worried look coming over his face. "Even though I am going to get killed for it." I raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled nervously. "Alice didn't want me to say anything to you. She wanted to do it herself."

"You're so whipped." I chuckled, shutting my locker now that I was dressed. In the same fashion as yesterday, I would be showering at home.

"I know." He shrugged unashamedly. "And I don't care."

"Fair enough." I laughed, walking out of the changing rooms.

"Later!" He called and I waved back at him. Maybe there was more to Jasper than I'd thought. Maybe Alice too. I wouldn't really get my hopes up, but still . . . maybe.

I was aware that the bell had gone and people were filing out of their classes, but what I wasn't expecting was for Bella to be standing next to my car. At least she had the sense to stand _next_ to it, rather than lean _on_ it.

"Can I help you?" I asked, unlocking the car and she rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically.

"We need to work out what we're going to do about this project." She explained and I nodded absently, putting my bag on the passenger seat before straightening up to look at her. "What time should I come to yours?"

"I don't know. Whenever you're ready." I shrugged, not really interested. "And your Dad is coming over to talk to Carlisle when he finishes his shift tonight anyway. He can bring you."

"How am I supposed to get to school tomorrow?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips, her bag swinging down to rest on her wrist, gently tapping against her thigh.

"Well, there is this little machine right here." I gestured to my Audi. "It's called a car."

"I'm _not_ riding to school with you tomorrow." She scoffed and I rolled my eyes, getting pissed at her attitude.

"Well, if you don't, you can do two out of three things." I smirked at her, knowing that each of them would get her. "One: you can have fun trying to find the exit to my driveway. Two: you can have fun walking to school and three: you can have fun explaining to Mr. Banner why we couldn't start the project due to your pigheadedness."

I could see her weighing my words up, knowing that I was right in all three options. She didn't know where the turning to my house was and we had agreed to start at my house. If she didn't get a lift in with me tomorrow, then she would have to walk the several miles into town or if she didn't come to mine at all, then she would have to explain to Mr. Banner why. _Hmm . . . tough choice, huh, Bella?_

"Alright, fine." She rolled her eyes, crossing her eyes over her chest.

"Fine." I smirked at her, revelling in the fact that I had just pissed her off no end. Before I'd left, I wouldn't have dared, but hey, I wasn't the kid I was when I left, was I?

I climbed in my car, quickly pulling out of the parking lot and was home in a little under ten minutes, a speed my mother would have a coronary over, but hey, what she don't know won't hurt her, right? Actually, she probably had an idea, but didn't want any confirmation. It would scare the shit out of her if she knew the speeds I got up to in this thing.

I tapped on the steering wheel lightly as I waited for the garage door to open before sliding into the space quickly and perfectly. Ah, my baby was perfect. Nothing could compare to her.

I locked my car, pressing the button to close the garage door before I made my way to the side door that linked to the kitchen. I caught sight of my mother smiling as she stood in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled absolutely gorgeous, as everything my mother cooks always is.

"Hey, Mom." I walked up behind her giving her a quick kiss on the temple as I always did when I got home. "What smells so great?"

"Not you." She laughed and I stuck my tongue out at her. "What smells so great would be your dinner."

"Yum." I grinned at her from across the kitchen. "Wait. Just me?" I raised an eyebrow as she turned and nodded at me. "How come?"

"Because your father and I are going to see a show in Seattle tonight." She told me, giving me an exasperated look. "We've told you about this, Edward."

"Oh." Was my oh, so eloquent reply. "Um . . . Bella's coming over tonight, and no, it's not because we're friends or whatever." I cut her off before she could even start as she turned around an enormous smile on her face. It dropped at my words and I felt slightly bad. "We have a project to do for Biology which means that we have to stay over at each other's houses for two months."

"That's a bit unorthodox, don't you think?" She frowned at me and I shrugged.

"Take up with Banner." I told her and she rolled her eyes at me. "What? It was his idea." I started up the stairs before stopping, dropping my bag and walking back down again. "I thought that Dad said Charlie was coming over tonight?" I could have sworn that he said he was.

"Only for a quick chat." She smiled over her shoulder at me. "He's not staying long. Don't worry, we'll tell him we're only going to Port Angeles and won't be back too late. I wouldn't want anything to jeopardise your project."

"When are you going to be back?" I asked her out of curiosity, hanging onto the banister for the hell of it.

"Tomorrow." _Fucking A!_ "And don't hang onto the banister like that Edward. You know I worry."

"Mom." I moaned, rolling my eyes at her, finding my contacts slightly irritating as I did so. I would take them out when I got upstairs. "Not clumsy anymore." I called down as I ascended the stairs.

"I still worry." She called back and I chuckled, shaking my head as I made my way up the stairs.

Walking into my room, I closed and my door, stripping as I made my way to my en suite, making a mental note to pick up my clothes later as I grabbed a towel as I walked through the door to my bathroom.

I turned on the shower, waiting for it to heat up, rubbing my eye, wondering what the fuck was going on with my contacts. _I'll take them out after, but at the moment, I need to see_, I reasoned with myself.

After making sure I didn't smell anymore, I climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, before walking out into my bedroom, grabbing my discarded clothes as I went, dropping them into the hamper after cleaning out all of my pockets. I grabbed my glasses – yes, I still had glasses. A fucker needs to see when he can't use his contacts – and the small pots I kept my contacts in before taking them out. I really should have used a fucking mirror for that shit, but meh, I couldn't be bothered to walk all the way over there.

Slipping on my glasses – which were _not_ the fucking bottle tops I used to wear. I practically forced my mom to buy me a new pair, which meant that I was now sporting the latest Prada glasses for men and I had to say, they were pretty fucking nice – I slipped on a pair of boxer briefs, a black t-shirt, which I seemed to have a fucking lot of and a pair of loose jeans.

After putting my iPod in its dock and turning it on, flicking it to one of the harsher albums I had on there_, _I flopped down on my bed, picking up the text that we had to memorise for English when my phone started ringing. I couldn't be assed to get up and get it from my dresser so I reached over and grabbed the Bluetooth headset that I knew would be connected to my phone. I knew from the ringtone that it was James, as I slipped it on and pressed the little answer button on the side.

"'Sup asshole." I greeted and he laughed.

"What's new with you, loser?" He chuckled into the phone and I couldn't help but laugh. He sounded a little odd. I wondered what was up with him but shrugged it off. If something was up, he'd tell me.

"And what can I do for you this fine fucking evening." I grinned, chucking the text away and picking up the magazine that I'd been reading at lunch today. Or trying to read at least.

"Guess what?" I could practically hear him bouncing up and down as he spoke.

"Alright, I'll bite. What?" I replied, turning the page.

"I got it done!" I couldn't help the grin spreading across my face.

James had been wanting to get his tongue pierced for fucking ages, but had been too much of a pussy to get it done. So _that's_ why he sounded weird.

"Ha ha! Congrats man." I grinned flipping the page again. "See, I told you to grow some."

"Fuck off, man." He moaned and I chuckled, sensing my door opening slowly and someone stepping slightly into the room. I knew that it wasn't my mom as she always knocked before opening the door. As did my dad. Bella was here. Fun times. "It fucking hurt."

"It does not." I argued, still laughing. I looked up from the magazine, looking across the room and not at the figure standing in the doorway as I flicked my tongue bar against my viperbites. "You coming in or what? Either way, close the fucking door."

"You talking to me?" James sounded confused, as well as slightly lispy, which sounded fucking hilarious. Nothing against people with lisps, I know they can't help it or whatever, but still, on James that shit's funny as.

"No, you fucktard." I rolled my eyes, chuckling. "Got someone from school over for a project."

"Who?" He asked, his interest piqued and I knew that he would never leave it alone. He was like a fucking Jack Russell with a bone. Wouldn't let the hell go when he thought he'd found something good.

"Bella." I replied shortly and a chuckle came from his end.

"You mean, _the_ Bella?" He asked, laughing and I rolled my eyes again. "The Bella that made your life hell for years?"

"Yeah, rub it in why don't you." I moaned as he laughed in my ear. "Look, I gotta go. See ya later, fucker."

"Later, asshat." With that he hung up and I pulled out my earpiece and put it back on the table next to my bed, chuckling to myself.

"You always talk to your friends like that?" Bella asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Yup." I replied, popping the 'p'. It was true. I always talked to James like that. And he always talked to me in the same way. We had a rapport going in that way. "What's it to you, anyway?"

"Nothing really." She sighed, moving into my room a little more and I shifted my eyes too look up at her. She was looking around my room, a look of surprise on her face.

"What?" I snorted slightly as I watched her take in the stark difference between my gold carpets, curtains and bedding and my dark furniture, including the leather couch that sat in front of the floor to ceiling window. I noticed that my mom had flattened it out. It was a nifty thing. It majored as a couch, but if necessary you could pop the back rest down so that it became a double bed. She was no doubt expecting me to sleep on that thing. Not a chance. My bed. I didn't care that Bella was a girl. After all she'd put me through over the years, it was the least she deserved. "Not what you were expecting?"

"Not at all." She looked at me and smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you say you're not a geek."

_Guessing she means the glasses._ "Some of your favourite celebrities wear glasses, does that make them geeks too?" I asked, returning her smirk with one of my own.

"Like who?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Tom Cruise. Need I go on?" I looked down at my magazine again as she snorted.

"And how the hell would you know that?"

"Ask Kate." I smirked looking up at her. "She knows a lot of celebrity gossip.

And she really did, but not in a stalkerish kind of way.

Kate was one of my best friends in Chicago. We had dated for a while, but found that we were better as friends. But fuck me, she was hot and the sex was out of this world. Still, didn't work out. She was tall and blonde, but not in the fake way like Tanya. Everything about Kate was real. Her hair was long, a pale blonde colour, with slight curls to it, which she hated. She always complained that no matter how much she straightened it, the curls would not go away. Her blue eyes sparkled no matter what mood she was in. When she was happy, they were light and pale, but when she was pissed they became dark and you knew to either run or protect your junk, depending on how pissed she was at you. Her body was incredible and I knew that she worked hard to maintain it, not starving herself like so many other girls did, but keeping an eye on what she did eat and busting her ass at the gym. And it showed. Fuck me, did it show. There was not an ounce of fat on her body. All muscle baby and it was glorious. And her legs. I'm drooling just thinking about them. Her legs were so long and perfect that they ought to be carried onto the next girl, should she be lucky enough to be graced with them.

Yes, Kate was gorgeous.

But not only that, she had a brain as well. Which was something I was sorely lacking. That was something that caused us to click so well. She was up to date on all the celeb gossip and latest fashion trends – which really didn't interest me at all – but she could also hold her own in a political debate or a discussion about the state of the economy. There was nothing that this girl couldn't do.

Except cook. She wasn't the best one of those.

But hell, I could cook, so who cared?

"Who's Kate?" Bella asked, a slight sneer in her voice and I looked at her again.

"Girlfriend." I muttered, rolling my eyes and looking back down at my magazine. Before I had left, Kate had said that if I got into any weird situations with the girls back here, like the one I was currently in now, just to use her as my girlfriend. It would be fine. So I was taking full advantage of that offer, even though I knew it was wrong of me. Bella was obviously looking for an opening to wriggle her way into and I wasn't going to give her one.

"Right." She scoffed, rolling her eyes at me and I looked up at her sharply, so I grabbed a picture of me and Kate that I'd kept because it was a cute picture, I'll admit it and tossed it to the end of the bed where it landed with a dull thump. "This her?" She asked, not sounding too sure of herself.

"Yup." I nodded, smirking at her as she looked down at the picture. That had been taken just before we both came to the conclusion that we were better as friends about six months ago, so neither of us had really changed since then. I had all the piercings I had now, with the only difference being that I didn't have the Phoenix running down my arm in the picture, which you couldn't tell anyway, but still. "That's Kate."

"She's pretty." She mumbled, looking at the picture of the two of us, with something unreadable in her eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" I snorted as she handed the picture back to me and I placed it back where it was before. "She's fucking gorgeous."

"Yeah." She sighed gently, sitting down on the end of my bed. "She is."

_Alright, I'll bite_. I thought, internally rolling my eyes. "What's the matter?" I asked in the most convincing tone I could muster.

"It's nothing." She shook her head, slowly, looking from the picture and down to her hands.

"What?" I sat up, looking at her and she shook her head. "Seriously, what?"

"It's just . . . you look so happy in that picture. With her." She sighed, shaking her head. "And I just wonder, will I ever have that?"

She was right. Kate and I were happy in that picture, but I was confused as to what the rest of her statement meant.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Jake not doing it for you?"

"Jake and I broke up like five months ago." She shrugged, giving me a small smile before looking down at her hands.

"Huh." I sat back against my pillows. "Didn't see that one coming." I shrugged, looking back at my magazine.

"Is that all you have to say?" She asked, her tone slightly frustrated.

"What do you expect me to say?" I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "The two of you made me miserable for years. Do you expect me to be sympathetic?"

She seemed to think about that for a moment, something flashing in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly that I couldn't register what it was. "No." She chuckled once, sighing gently. "I guess not."

"There we go then." I turned back to my magazine as there was a knock on my door. "Yeah."

My door opened to reveal my mother standing there, a small smile playing on her lips and I had to fight to not roll my eyes at her obvious presumption that Bella and I were getting along. Something that was never going to happen. She was here because she had to be for a school project. Nothing more, nothing less. "Your father and I are heading out now." I looked up at her and nodded.

"M'kay." I acknowledged and she gave me a stern look.

"The two of you behave." She looked between the two of us, calculating something that probably wasn't going to happen.

"Yeah, right, Mom." I didn't bother reining in the eyeroll this time. "We're going to end up destroying the house and getting arrested for some shit. Don't forget to come bail us out, 'kay?"

"Edward, language." She scolded, though her tone wasn't stern at all and I could tell she was trying not to chuckle at my comment. She knew that no matter how much I had changed in Chicago, she could trust me at home alone or with a . . . classmate? Well, she wasn't my friend. Classmate will do. "Anyway, we'll be home after you two leave for school, alright. Don't worry, Bella. We've told your dad that we'll be home later on this evening."

"Mom!" I gasped in fake shock. "Lying to the Chief of Police?! Scandalous!"

"I know." She fake sighed, putting the back of her hand to her forehead as if she were a damsel in distress in one of those old black and white movies. "I just didn't know what else to do." We both started laughing, with Bella grinning at the bottom of my bed where she was sat. "You dinner is in the oven, it'll be ready in around half an hour. Behave." She pointed a finger at the both of us.

"Aye aye, Captain." I mock saluted her and she shook her head, chuckling to herself as she left the room, making her way down the stairs.

"Your mom's great." Bella giggled from the end of the bed and I think that had to be the first thing . . . ever . . . that I had agreed with her on.

"Yeah, she is pretty awesome." I agreed, nodding slightly.

"So, where are they going?" She asked, looking around the room again, as if it was some kind of exhibition.

"Some show in Seattle." I shrugged. My mom hadn't told me where they were going, and I didn't think to ask. It was a bit late now, seeing as my dad was making his way down the driveway. "Didn't think to ask which one." She was still gazing around my room like it was some kind of mystery to her. "Seriously, what's with the room watching?"

"Nothing." Her head snapped back around to look at me. "It's just . . . different to what I was expecting."

"What?" I snorted, sitting up Indian style, facing her. "Let me guess, you were expecting Star Wars memorabilia and World of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons shit, weren't you?"

"Apart from the fact that I have no idea what the second one is, yeah, pretty much." She admitted, a slight blush appearing on her face. Had I just _embarrassed_ her?

"World of Warcraft is a computer game." I explained, rolling my eyes and looking at the couch that was made up ready to be slept in, or on, as it were. "A computer game that has never held any interest of mine. Even when I was here. Not even _I_ was _that_ bad."

"Oh, you were." She laughed as I stood up, tossing the magazine on my desk, making my way towards my balcony, grabbing my cigarettes on the way.

"You know, maybe if some of you had looked beyond the glasses and imperfect skin, you would have gotten to know the real me." I told her before walking out of the large glass door, shutting it behind me and leaning on the railing.

I heard the door open and click shut again, and I knew that Bella had joined me outside.

"You're right." She sighed and I felt her presence beside me. "We should have seen beyond appearances. Then we might have gotten to know the boy beneath the geek." She looked up at me from where she was leaning on the railing next to me. "I'm sorry." She whispered, not breaking eye contact and I couldn't help but laugh as I took another drag of my cigarette. "What the hell is so funny?" She sounded pissed, but at the moment I really didn't care. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"You." I said honestly, looking at her. "I mean, come on. You expect me to believe that you really mean what you just said? Give me a break. As you damn well know, I am not stupid. Especially when it comes to you and your little games." I took another drag, still watching her as she glared at me. A glare I reciprocated completely. "You really expect me to believe that you're sorry?"

"Yes." She answered and I laughed again.

"Bella, if you were truly sorry, you would have apologised years ago, or thought about what your actions could lead to and not have followed through." I practically whispered, leaning down to her level. "Don't patronise me with your spiel, because I ain't buying it. We are _never_ going to get on. You are here, so we pass this project. You know that and I know that. So don't ever think that anything else will come of this."

I took one last drag of my cigarette and threw it off of my balcony into the darkness before turning and walking back through my room and downstairs to grab dinner out of the oven.

Spring vegetable and potato bake! _Yes, one of my favourites! Love you, mom._

I was suddenly hit with a memory from last year during the summer when our gang had been out in the Millennium Park, James with his guitar and the rest of us just chilling.

_Flashback – June 2008_

_Laughing at something Kate had said, we all watched as Demetri sat there, tears streaming down his face, making all of us laugh harder._

"_Seriously, Dem." Jane giggled, running her hand through her boyfriend's hair, trying to calm him down. "It's not that funny." He tried to answer her, but couldn't because he was still laughing._

"_Hey." James grinned, his blue eyes shining as he had an idea. "I know what'll make this more fun."_

"_Other than watching Demetri piss himself?" I raised an eyebrow, earning a laugh from James and a small slap on the chest from Kate who was leaning against me, trying not to laugh. "Be honest, it _is_ funny."_

_She looked over at him, tilting her head to the side, her blonde hair unhooking itself from her ear and cascading over my chest. "Yeah, you're right." She grinned up at me. "It is funny."_

"_Told you so." I pressed a kiss to her lips and she sighed gently. "So, James." I sighed, looking over at him. "What's your grand idea?"_

"_A sing-a-long." He chirped and we all groaned. "You have to sing about the most important person in your life." He winked at Victoria, who blushed and looked down._

"_Alright then, asshole." I smirked and he raised an eyebrow at me. "You start."_

"_Fine. I will." He positioned his guitar in his lap, strumming a few chords before clearing his throat._

'_I love her._

_I really really love her._

'_Cause you cook my food and you clean my room.'_

_Victoria was not looking happy at the way this song was going, and I could see a bust up happening if James didn't shut the fuck up now._

'_I love you, Mom.'_

_Even Victoria had to laugh at that, her face showing relief as she realised the song wasn't about her._

_End flashback_

I couldn't help but smile to myself as I remembered that day. That had been days before my seventeenth birthday and it would always be one that stuck in my mind. I really did miss them and it had only been a few days.

"What are you thinking about?" I heard a voice behind me and turned to see Bella standing there, her expression not as angry as it had been when I'd left her on my balcony, but still slightly miffed Meh, not my problem.

"Chicago." I replied, taking the bake out of the oven and grabbing two plates before dishing some out.

"What is it?" She asked, looking at it curiously.

"Vegetable and potato bake." I answered, grabbing some cutlery and leaving the drawer open so she knew which one it was.

"That has carbs _and_ dairy in it." She looked at me as though I was crazy.

"Well, either you eat it, or you don't eat until tomorrow morning." I sneered at her and she took a step back. "And stop being so fucking ungrateful."

Whatever was going through her mind as I started to eat, something clicked and she made her way over to the drawer and took out some cutlery, closing it after her and picking up the plate I'd dished up for her before sitting across the island from me.

"What are we going to do tonight?" She asked, taking a bite of her food, her eyes widening slightly as she tasted it. _You should know by now, bitch, that my mom is the fucking priestess of the kitchen._

"Dunno." I shrugged, eating some more of my dinner.

"I'm guessing I'm on the sofa." She sighed and I nodded.

"You guessed right."

"You know, traditionally, the boy lets the girl have the bed and the boy takes the sofa." She said, her tone mocking and I smirked up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Not this boy." I replied shortly and her face fell. "You should have realised, I don't roll over for anyone anymore."

"I kind of did." She muttered and I chuckled once as I finished my plate and put it in the dishwasher, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard and filling it with water. I turned around to see her watching me, her eyes running up and down my inked arms and I couldn't help but smirk.

"See something you like?" I asked, mocking her as she had done to me countless times before. She looked shocked at being caught before blushing and turning back to her plate. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Whatever." She mumbled and I laughed, finishing my water and putting the glass in the dishwasher as well before making my way into the living room.

I flicked on the TV, flopping down on the sofa in front of it, flicking through the hundreds of channels. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. As Foamy the Squirrel once said 'I have like four hundred channels here and there's nothing on.' I chuckled, thinking about Foamy. That shit was funny. God bless Jonathan Mathers. Man is a genius.

I heard Bella come into the room and felt the sofa dip as she sat down on the other end, tucking her feet up underneath her as she gazed at the TV.

I ended up settling on one of the Blade films. I couldn't remember which one it was, but that might have been because I was slightly distracted by Jessica Biel. Fuck, she was hot.

After the film finished, I realised it was quite late and we both had to get up in the morning to write that shit for Banner's class, hence the fact that Bella was sitting in my living room right now. Hell, if he hadn't had some screwed up idea, then she wouldn't be and I would be here, probably now whacking off to images of Jessica Biel running through my head, which in my opinion wasn't a bad way to spend an evening. But then again, I was an eighteen year old male, what did you really expect?

Turning off the TV, I made my way upstairs, Bella trailing after me slowly and I rolled my eyes as she stood, just inside my doorway.

"You _can_ come in you know." I snorted. "You've already been in here, remember?"

"Where can I change?" She asked, her voice small and I pointed to my en suite, to which she grabbed her bag and practically sprinted in there. I rolled my eyes, as I grabbed my pyjamas – which consisted of a black t-shirt and black lounge pants.

Throwing them on, I dumped my clothes on the chair I had in the corner of the room, save for my underwear, which went in my laundry hamper and I flopped back on my bed, waiting for her to be done in the bathroom so I could brush my teeth.

She was surprisingly quick in the bathroom, reappearing a few minutes later in a small top and shorts that could definitely _not _be qualified as pyjamas. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the image of Bella in practically nothing making her way over to the sofa as I made my way over to my bathroom, closing the door behind me.

I looked down and rolled my eyes as I realised that even though I hadn't really wanted to notice her, my dick certainly had and he was making himself known, practically waving at me for some attention.

_Mom, mom, mom, mom._ I chanted over and over in my head, trying to get rid of my hard on before I had to go back out there. _Grandma!_ That did it. _Thank fuck._

I quickly brushed my teeth before I went back out into my bedroom, seeing Bella curled up under the duvet that my mom had brought out for her.

I climbed into my bed, checking that I had set my alarm on my phone before turning out the light, hearing a slight sigh coming from Bella on the sofa. Well, having her here was going to be interesting, I'll tell you that much. It was awkward to say the least. Who knew what she had to say to her little gaggle of friends about my house and my room. They'd probably come up with some little pathetic jibes.

I couldn't wait for these two months to be over.

_**I know it's not an incredibly exciting chapter, but I **_**do**_** know where I'm going with the story, so don't worry about that.**_

_**Sorry, this took so long to get out, but I've got work and everything.**_

_**As per Shelby's acknowledgement, Magicward is feeling a little left out again, so he'll be updated next. Not sure how long, but he will. Hopefully before the week is out, depending on how hectic it is. Shelb - don't ever think you're not helping me get these out, cos you really are, girl!**_

**_As some of you may have noticed, James's little song is actually from Wolf Creek. I was watching it the other day and found it really funny and cute and it sounded like somehting the James in this story would do. Just so you know, he's not going to be the creepy weirdo that appears in so many other stories. That gets old and boring, so in this he's a good guy and one of Edward's closest friends. Just thought I'd let you know._**

**_Oh, and I forgot to mention, there's a link to Edward's Audi on my profile. It's schmexi and I want one, but know I'll never be able to afford it. Unless I win the lottery which is pretty un-fucking-likely._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Sucky, right?**

**I suck with updates, I know. You can yell at me all you want. I deserve it.**

_**6th September 2009**_

_**Bella**_

Waking up, I immediately knew that I wasn't in my own bedroom.

The light was way too bright, indicating that there were no curtains on the windows. I _always_ closed my curtains. _Always_. The surface underneath me wasn't as soft as my bed at home either.

I sat up, squinting against the bright sunlight, taking in my surroundings.

The room was a golden colour, ranging in its tones, obviously masculine. A dark, wooden desk with an expensive laptop on it lined one wall, stretching from underneath one smaller window to the floor to ceiling glass doors that led out onto his balcony. T here was a wide screen television mounted on the wall directly opposite the bed, several rows of DVDs lined up underneath it. Lining the last wall was a collection of music that I had never seen the likes of before. I swear, there was more here than you find in a record store. Everything from vintage vinyl records to CDs stretched from the floor to the ceiling framing the more extravagant sound-system I had ever laid eyes on.

What I was looking at was definitely not what I had been expecting upon entering Edward Cullen's bedroom the day before.

My gaze slowly slid to the bed, not really knowing what I would find.

_Hello mommy._

What I _did_ find made me rethink the whole 'he's still a geek in denial' theory I had going.

Edward was still asleep, laying flat on his back. His covers, which were a deep gold colour, matching the entire theme of the room, were gathered around his waist, having slid down probably from when he'd moved during the night. The black t-shirt he was wearing had ridden up, exposing his incredibly toned stomach.

I knew where he had gotten that from. He had left his closet slightly open yesterday and I had seen a martial arts uniform hanging on the inside of the door. I had also seen a row of belts ranging from white to black, showing me how accomplished he really was. I didn't know it was possible to go from white to black in just two years, but apparently it was.

And it obviously worked for him as well.

It was _definitely _working for me.

I let my gaze run up his body, resting on his inked arms wanting to see them completely. I had seen the one on his back, sure, and that was incredible, but I wanted to see the other two as well. And I wanted to know if I was right in my assumptions of him having his nipples pierced as well. Because if he did, that would be some hot shit.

Yeah, I know. I'm thinking all this about the former school geek. Pathetic, right? Though to be fair, I don't think you could class him as a geek anymore. Well . . . I _definitely_ wouldn't class him as a geek anymore.

If I'm honest, yeah, I was expecting a whole load of geeky things in his room. Star Wars memorabilia, you know, those weird games that geeks play. All of that. Periodic table somewhere, maybe. But I didn't get any of that. His room was just so . . . normal. It was quite unnerving really.

What had pissed me off about last night was that I was actually being sincere in my apologies. I wasn't sure where they came from, but I knew that I meant them. He had been right. If only we _had_ looked past the appearance, maybe he would have turned out to be someone we could have got on with. We would have had to spruce him up a bit first, because I mean, hello, but still, he had been right last night.

And then he had just laughed at me!

I had been completely honest with him, the first time I had been _that_ honest with anyone except Alice in years. So why the hell had I chosen him to talk to? Hell if I know. It just came out. And then he fucking laughed at me. Asshole. Though . . . I guess that what he said had been true. If we had really been sorry, we would have apologised at some point during our torture years, but we never did. The only reason we held back on some of our meaner forms of torture were because Alice and Jasper convinced us that we would get in shit with the police.

Now _that_ wouldn't have been fun to explain to Charlie. _'Yeah, Dad, I'm in here because I've been torturing your best friend's geeky son for the last three years or so, and we took it too far today. Can I come out now?'_ No, that wouldn't go down well at all.

But he didn't have to laugh. Actually, I think the laugh was better than the glare that had replaced it. _That_ look was just fucking evil. It had scared me a little when he looked at me like that out on the balcony. It really let me know how much hate he had stored inside of him for me. And I knew that beneath that there was a good chance that there was a lot of hurt and pain and humiliation due to the things we did for him.

He might have had his glasses on, but his eyes were as bright as ever inside, transforming to almost black outside the more pissed off he got.

He had said something about my being here was only so we could pass the project, and nothing more. And that nothing would ever come of it. Did I want it to? Was that the vibe I had been giving off? I wasn't sure about the answer to either of those questions.

I looked back over at him again, taking in his face as he slept. He had rolled slightly onto his side, facing me. Looking at him sleeping, it was like he wasn't alone in a room with a girl he very publicly hates. He looked serene and peaceful, a complete contrast to the demeanour his tattoos and piercings gave off.

He rolled over again and stretched out, his back arching. As he did so, I noticed something glinting on his stomach. He had his _belly button_ pierced? I thought that was a girl thing. Obviously not.

"Rude to stare, you know." It wasn't a question, or even a greeting. It was purely a statement or fact. Well, it _was_ considered rude to stare, but I didn't really care. All I could think about was the piece of metal going through his belly button right now. Granted it was on the bottom, so maybe that made it a bit more manly. No, maybe not.

"Sorry." I smiled at him, trying to be nice. "I just noticed the bar in your belly button."

"It's not a bar." He replied, stretching out a little more before climbing off of the bed. "It's called an implant." He looked over at me, obviously registering my look of complete confusion. I think it came off as _'wha-?´ _I hoped he would explain what the hell an 'implant' was. "It's a disk that sits just above and just inside the skin." He stretched out again, his t-shirt riding up again, and I could see what he meant. It was just a metal disk right below his belly button.

"Why did you get it done?" I asked, genuinely curious. I didn't think guys were into getting anything like that done. It was more of a girl thing anyway, but hey, what do I know? Nothing apparently.

"Dare." He replied and I knew that I wasn't going to get anything else from him. If yesterday was anything to go by, he would clam up and I wouldn't get anything from him.

He put his glasses on and grabbed his box of cigarettes, pulling one out and throwing the packet onto his bed where it bounced lightly as he walked out through his balcony doors, securing them shut behind him. I saw a soft cloud of smoke appear and I knew that he had lit up.

I wanted to take this time to get dressed, but I didn't really want to go to school smelling, and there was no way I was _ever_ going to use those showers at school. Not a damn chance.

I slid off of the couch and padded my way over to the balcony doors, opening them slightly before sticking my head out, wishing that I'd waited for him to finish before I asked.

He was standing there, leaning back on the railing, his elbows resting on the bar that ran at about waist high, his hands hanging limply by his side. His legs were out in front of him, crossed at the ankle as he leaned, making it look completely effortless. His eyes were closed as he leaned his head back, taking in the small amount of sun Forks had to offer, especially at this time of the morning.

"Can I help you?" His voice broke through my small 'duh' session and I shook my head a little, trying to clear it. How could it be that this guy could come back for a day or so and completely throw everything out? Was that even possible? Well, it obviously was. Either that or I was going completely insane.

"Um, I was wondering if I could use your shower." I asked, my voice smaller than I wanted it to be. I wasn't used to asking like this. At Rose or Alice's I had my own room with an en suite attached, so I never had to worry about that. Here, it was completely different. For one, this was Edward Cullen I was talking to. And second, this was Edward Cullen's _room_. His en suite and his shower.

He opened his eyes slowly, taking in my appearance as I stood there in his doorway waiting for an answer.

"If you go down to the second floor, second door to the right there's a guest bedroom. It has an en suite. You might be a bit more comfortable in there, rather than using my shower." He told me and I smiled appreciatively at him. It _would _be more comfortable for me than using his shower. "There's a linen closet directly opposite the room. Towels and whatever other shit you need will be in there."

Wait, had he just been considerate of my feelings? Nah, probably not.

He probably just didn't want me to touch his stuff.

I grabbed my overnight bag and made my way downstairs. Just as he'd said there was a guest room through the second door to the right. I slipped in, closing the door and making my way across the room, opening the curtains so I could see a little better. It wasn't like I had to worry about perverts out here. I mean, I was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest. Unless Edward was hanging around in the trees outside the guest bedroom window, I think I'm safe. And that doesn't really sound like an Edward thing to do. But then again, it might be for _this_ Edward.

I showered quickly, glad that I had thought to pack my toiletries in my bag. Nothing like using your own stuff. I mean, the stuff that the Cullens' had in their guest room en suite might have been exquisite to use, but I preferred to use my own, no matter what anyone else had. Little quirk of mine.

I slipped out of the shower, grabbing one of the towels I had taken out of the linen closet across from the room, like Edward said it would be, and wrapping it around myself. I quickly dried and dressed for the day, working my hair as I normally did, letting it fall down in natural curls for today.

When I was satisfied with my appearance I grabbed my overnight bag and sauntered downstairs. I wasn't surprised to find Edward already down there wearing a pair of loose jeans, a black t-shirt and a white button down. It may have been simple enough, but it was sexy as hell on him. I had seen Yorkie and others like him trying to pull off that look, but with Edward, there was something else. Not even Emmett and Jasper really looked natural like that.

This was so weird. I was crushing on a geek. Well, an _ex -_geek.

Upon entering the kitchen I was immediately met with the smell of pancakes that set my senses going. Hopefully there wasn't any drool.

"Want some?" Edward's voice floated across the kitchen from the cooker as he turned to look at me.

"Please." I nodded and made my way over to where I had seen him retrieve some plates for us last night. Doing a little happy dance when I found I had the right cupboard, I pulled out two plates, setting them on the counter before closing it quietly. One thing I hated in the morning was when Renee banged the cupboard doors. I know there wasn't anyone in the house, but to me, things always seemed louder in the morning. Not sure why that was.

"Good memory." He mumbled, concentrating on what he was doing and I smiled at him, placing the plates next to him so he wouldn't have to go searching for them. Maybe we _could_ get along after all.

_We are __never__ going to get on_.

Edward's words from last night came back to me in a rush. I knew that it was probably too much to ask of him to try with me and I understood that now. We had hurt him. Bad. It was clear that he hated us all at Forks High. Even the ones that didn't do anything to him because they never helped. They just stood around and watched, obviously too afraid to be linked to the geek than do what they know is right and help him.

Edward's scars went a lot deeper than the one above his left eye.

I understood that now, but I wasn't sure that the others did. I knew that no matter how much they had a go at him, the Edward standing in front of me – cooking pancakes as he may be – would fight back. This Edward was dangerous. I could see it, but I don't think that the others' – especially Jacob and Emmett – would be able to see that. What with their size.

But how to get them to leave him alone without rousing suspicion?

Did I even want them to?

I thought about that for less than three seconds before I came to a conclusion.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I wasn't sure if it was because this new Edward scared me a little, as no doubt was his intention, or whether I just wanted everyone to leave him alone. Which was a weird feeling for me. A turnaround I think they called it.

Watching him eating his breakfast and putting his things away, just in the general hubbub of getting ready for school, I noticed that his movements had become a lot more graceful over the years he'd been away. No doubt the martial arts had been responsible for that. It further removed him from the geek image he used to hold when here before.

"Ready?" He asked, looking at me with an expectant yet bored expression. How he managed to make those two work I'll never know.

His voice snapped me out of my musings and I nodded, quickly depositing my plate and cutlery in the dishwasher as I'd seen him do and grabbing my stuff. I turned around to see him wearing an expression of surprise and curiosity as he watched me. Obviously he hadn't been expecting me to clear up after myself. _Sorry Mr. Cullen. That's something I _always_ do._

If I'm perfectly honest I have absolutely no idea what I was thinking when I was objecting to riding in Edward's Audi yesterday. I had been wanting to ride in it since I saw it – though I would never admit that to the guys – and I couldn't help but doing a little happy dance inside when he had – ever so mockingly – pointed out that he would drive us into school today. Over the last few hours, I think I'd only put up a fight because it was expected of me. It was what I did when it came to Edward Cullen. I fought him on everything, but before, he didn't fight back. This one did and I have to say, it was exciting to experience.

Sliding into the car, I immediately relaxed into the plush leather seats, revelling in the softness underneath me. Placing my bags underneath my feet, I had to make room to accommodate for Edward's as well, but unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of room.

After Edward had made a few comments about being careful with the upholstery, we were gliding towards the school. If I'd thought that Alice's Porsche was smooth, it had absolutely fuck-all going for it compared to this machine. Even though I didn't know much about cars, I knew that this was a beauty to behold and riding in one was a privilege.

When we got to school, there wasn't even a mutter of a 'bye' or 'see you later' as he walked off. I started to say thank you for him giving me a ride, but before I could even get the 'th' out, he was gone.

Weird.

I made my way over to my friends who were standing there looking at me with curious expressions on their faces, no doubt wanting some details on last night.

"Well?" Tanya asked, her hand on her hip as she flicked her hair over her shoulder, smirking at me.

"Well, what?" I asked, looking at all of them, feeling slightly confused.

"Come on, Bella." Rose rolled her eyes, looking excited about something for the first time . . . ever. It took a lot to get Rose worked up unless it involved cars or Emmett. "We want some deets."

"There's nothing to say." I shrugged, feeling slightly disappointed about that fact. I wasn't sure _why_ I was feeling disappointed about that and that both confused and angered me. I was used to knowing what I was feeling and why I was feeling it. Edward being back had thrown a spanner in those works almost immediately, which fucked me off. How did he have that kind of power?

"Well, what happened?" Alice looked at me, her eyes wide with curiosity. I started walking towards the building, Alice and Rose either side of me. The others weren't following us, I could tell that, probably wondering what the hell was going on.

"I got to his, his parents went out, we had dinner, watched TV and went to bed." I shrugged, hoping they would let it go.

"Is that all?" Rose's bored and disappointed tone was back and I wasn't surprised at that fact.

"It's not like the two of us are two kids in a movie or a book and are crushing on each other, but the only ones who can't see how the other feels is the two of them." I sighed, flicking my hair over my shoulder as I spoke. "He hates me. Enough said."

"Wait." _Dammit! I knew someone was going to pick up on the fact that I had said, 'he hates me', but I hadn't said that I hated him. To be honest, I wasn't sure _what_ I felt towards Edward Cullen._ "He hates you?" It was Alice. I should have known. "But you don't hate him?"

"I don't know." I admitted honestly, shrugging lightly. "I honestly don't know what I feel towards him." I sighed, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes. "But I do know," I opened my eyes, looking at the two of them as they watched me carefully, "that he is no longer a geek."

"Really?" Alice looked at me, surprised and I nodded my head.

"Well, put it this way." I gently shoved myself off of the wall with my shoulder as we walked into the building. "How would you expect his room to look?"

"Probably full of little model things, star wars, that battleship thing, what was it? Galactica? I don't know . . . um, that dungeons game thing, probably things from that British show Dr. Who, I mean, geeks love that kind of stuff, right? Oh and probably a load of porno mags for the lack of action he's getting." Rose answered that question confidently and swiftly, smiling at me.

I smirked at her, shaking my head slowly and her brows furrowed, marring her perfectly smooth face for a split second before it flattened out again. "Nothing like that."

"Well . . ." Alice grinned at me as we stopped at her locker. "What's it like?"

"Well, it's kind of a golden colour, running through the whole room or whatever." I started, trying to remember the details of Edward's room. "The windows are enormous and I mean, floor to ceiling. There's a balcony as well. He's got a desk with the most up to date laptop on it. I mean, I think this thing beats Yorkie's-"

"Well, geeks tend to think alike, don't they?" Rose quipped and I glared at her. I wasn't really sure whether it was because she was interrupting me or because she was jibing at Edward. I really need to sort my emotional shit out.

"As I was saying," I raised an eyebrow at Rose, who shrugged like nothing was out of the ordinary. Well, for her it wasn't. "An enormous TV on one wall, facing the biggest bed you've ever seen. I'm talking, bigger than Alice's."

"That's insane." Alice's jaw dropped. She'd had her bed imported from some foreign country because it was bigger than the American kingsize. I don't know. It's Alice. She thinks she needs this shit. "No way."

"I'm serious." I nodded at her as her brow furrowed. "And that's not all. He has more music than a record store. And the flashiest sound-system I've ever seen. It's incredible. It beats Jazz's." Jasper was into his music in a serious way and no one dared to question him on it. But Edward . . . Edward had Jazz's music collection beat. Many times over.

"No way." The two of them chorused and I nodded, looking between them.

"Oh, yes." I nodded as we sat down in our first class, just before the bell went. Always on time but never early. That was our rule.

"So, what's the plan?" Alice asked as we waited for the teacher, who was never on time to our class. Seeing as it was the first class of the day, we all surmised that there was something more important than our education. Not that we minded at all. Meant we had more time to talk.

"With what?" I asked, not understanding what she was going on about. She and Rose were looking at me expectantly as though I were going to come up with some extravagant answer, though I didn't have the faintest clue what they were on about.

"Edward." Rose sighed as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Nothing." I shook my head, looking between the two of them.

"What do you mean, nothing?" Rose looked as though I had just told her that she couldn't have sex with Emmett for a month. It was like someone had taken her favourite toy – which ironically, was Emmett - away from her.

"Exactly that." I looked between the two of them again. "We're not going to do anything?"

"Why not?" It hadn't escaped my notice that this was all Rose's asking. Alice hadn't said anything at all. I would need to ask her about that once we got a moment or two.

"Because this Edward is different, just like he said." I sighed, looking down at the pen I was fiddling with in my hand. "Did I mention, he's a black belt?" I looked at her and she shook her head, slowly. "Well, he is. I saw a martial arts uniform and a row of belts ranging from white to black in his closet yesterday, and before you say anything, I wasn't snooping. The door was left open slightly." I sighed, running my hand through my hair, closing my eyes slowly. "I think that if the guys went after him, physically, _they'd _be the ones getting hurt. He obviously knows how to take care of himself now, what with being a black belt _and_ having spent the last two years in Chicago."

"I think you might be right." Alice said quietly. Her expression was thoughtful for the moment as she looked up at me. "How are we going to get the guys to leave him alone, though?"

"The only way that's going to happen is if they get their asses kicked." Rose quipped, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "What's with the sudden Edward love, anyway? Going soft on him, are we girls?"

_Yes_. "No." I shook my head. "I just don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Including him." It wasn't a question.

"Think about it, he gets hurt, we get in trouble." Alice reasoned and I nodded.

"He wouldn't rat." Rose smirked, seeming sure of herself.

"_He _probably wouldn't but I don't know about anyone else." I shook my head slowly. "You saw the way the rest of the students have been looking at him." I gestured towards the corridor, indicating the rest of the student body. "Who knows what will happen if something happens in front of them."

"Nothing." Rose shrugged, smirking as I looked at Alice for help. "Just like before."

"But nothing's like before." Alice said quietly, her finger lightly pulling her bottom lip out as she thought. "Edward's changed and therefore everything has. He's not the same, which means that he's probably not going to fall for the same kind of shit."

"Which means that we've got to get the guys to stop." I told Rose who sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Fine." It was as though this was some incredible ordeal for her to go through, trying to get her boyfriend to stop playing the school bully for a while. Not that hard. "I'll see what I can do."

I nodded as our teacher walked in, effectively cutting our conversation off. Alice still had a really pensive look on her face as the lesson wore on, but I couldn't ask her about it. This wasn't something I wanted to risk revealing. Who knew how people would take our situation with Edward.

When the bell for second rang, we gathered up our things and made our way out. Alice's expression hadn't changed but before I could ask her what was going on in her mind, I was cut off by Rose.

"Emmie!" She cried, running through a set of double doors. I noticed that they were the doors that led to the nurse's office and followed her through, raising my eyebrow at Alice, who shrugged. "What happened to you?"

I looked around Rose, who was fussing over Emmett, who was sat on a plastic chair with an icepack held to his eye. I wondered what had happened to him.

"Edward." He mumbled and I saw Rose tense up at his words.

"What?" I was confused. Why would Edward have caused Emmett to come to the nurse's office. "Emmett, what happened?"

He took the ice pack away and I couldn't help my jaw from dropping.

His eye was slightly swollen, the swelling being kept under control by the icepack. There was a bruise already forming, coming out in shades of purple and I knew that it was going to be a real shiner by the end of the day. It looked painful as he placed the icepack back onto his face.

"What happened?" Alice asked, yet again as Rose stood there in front of him, hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

"Ran into Edward, things were said and he hit me." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"When?" I asked, wondering when this could have happened because the bell had only just gone.

"About five minutes ago." He shrugged again, glancing at the clock with the eye that wasn't covered by the icepack. "I had a free and he had probably been let out of class early or something, 'cause he had his bag with him and shit. I said some stuff that I knew would piss him off, he went to walk away, I grabbed him and he hit me."

"We could get his suspended for that." Rose smirked, looking at the two of us.

"No." Emmett shook his head. "There was no one else there and the way he hit me means that there's no evidence on his body that he did it. If I say he did and he says he didn't, who're they gonna believe? The straight A student they've just got back, or the one who used to rip the piss out of him when he was here?"

Emmett made a good point.

"How did he hit you?" I asked, wondering how it wouldn't make a mark on him. I'd always noticed – when the guys had gotten in fights that is – when someone punched, it marked their knuckles. It didn't seem that was avoidable. Unless you have some kind of gloves.

"He elbowed me." Emmett chuckled, shaking his head. "It was pretty impressive actually. I grabbing him by the arm and he just swung around and elbowed me in the side of the head. If I liked him, I'd have to ask where the fuck he learned to do that."

"Oh yeah, well, he's a black belt in martial arts." I said quietly and Emmett raised his good eyebrow at me.

"How'd you know that?"

"I found his martial arts uniform and belts." I shrugged and he nodded. "To be fair, you did kind of deserve it."

"I know." He chuckled, shaking his head again. "Doesn't stop it from fucking hurting though." He laughed as Rosalie scowled at me.

Looks like I'm in trouble.

Well, it looks as though Emmett had learned what we wanted to tell the guys the hard way, but then again, it was Emmett we were talking about. Since when does he learn the easy way?

Exactly.

Now, getting the rest of the guys to listen was going to be interesting. No doubt there was going to be some kind of disagreement about it, but I didn't care. Edward, it seemed, had already demonstrated his physical prowess when it comes to an attack and I had no doubt that he was a step ahead of us when it came to being mentally prepared. After all, he had known he was coming back. We had not.

I think I'm going to need the others' help with this.

Whether I'd get it was another question altogether and I knew that I would be pummelled with the same question over and over again.

Why?

Which made me think, why _was _I doing this?

And for once in my life, I had no answer.

I didn't know.

_**Edward**_

This morning had been . . . interesting, to say the least.

First, waking up to Isabella Swan gawking at me wasn't something I was used to in the slightest. It made me uncomfortable.

Second, her being reasonably polite and even kind to me, shyly asking if she could use my shower and graciously thanking me when I told her that there was an en suite in the guest bedroom she would probably feel more comfortable in.

Having her in my car was weird, especially when I thought about how she had put up a front about me driving into school today. I wouldn't understand her.

Getting to school, I was still under the scrutinising stare of the student body, which didn't really bother me at the moment. Not as much as it had before anyway.

First period had gone without too much drama. Tanya was still sending me those ridiculous 'aren't I sexy' smirks, to which I just wanted to gag. That was about all, actually. That is until I asked if I could go early seeing as I finished the work set in that class and needed to sort some things out before my next class. Even though I knew that he probably didn't like me because I always finished before the allotted time slot was up, he let me go, allowing me to do what I wanted.

What I hadn't expected though, was Emmett McCarty to be wandering the same halls as at the same time. That had been fun.

Let's just said, he won't be insulting my mother again, at least not without thinking of my elbow coming towards his face.

I knew he hadn't been expecting my blow due to the way he had stumbled backwards a few steps, letting my arm out of his grip and allowing me enough time to walk away from him. There was no one else around, so if I was asked about it, I would lie. Not a very honest thing to do, but I dind't really care. It's not like it was the end of his life, was it?

I knew he would lie about how he got it, not wanting to be seen as the quarterback who'd been bested by a former geek. How embarrassing.

And it wasn't even ten o'clock yet.

The day passed pretty quickly and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw Emmett with his shiner at the end of the day. I was pretty proud of that actually. It lined the outside of his right eye socket and looked painful. _Good_, I snorted silently to myself as I walked towards my car, slightly surprised to see Bella standing next to my car.

"What should we do tonight?" She asked, watching me as I made my way around my car to the driver's seat.

"What do you mean?" I knew that we had to spend the next couple of months sleeping at each other's houses, but I don't think that meant we were going to be making plans.

"I mean, who's house?" She asked and I got what she meant. She didn't do anything I knew her for. Like flicking her hair over her shoulder, or rolling her eyes at something she found boring, menial or below her. She looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"I don't know." I shrugged, opening the door.

"Can we stay at yours again?" She asked, her voice quiet as her gaze dropped to the ground. Was she embarrassed or nervous about asking that.

"O-kay." I said slowly and she looked up at me and smiled before making her way to the passenger door. Guess we're going now then.

"Would we be able to stop at my house for a few minutes, while I grab some stuff?" She asked, biting her lip in an uncertain way.

"Sure." I shrugged as I started the car, smiling as I always did at the purr my baby emitted. She was gorgeous.

"Why did you hit Emmett?" She asked as I pulled out of the parking lot and started down the road which led to her house.

"He started it." I replied simply, turning down her street.

"What are you, five?" She snorted and I rolled my eyes at her answer. Of course she would come up with something like that. "Seriously, why'd you hit him?"

"He said some stuff." I replied shortly, feeling my anger at his words growing again. I took a few deep breaths as I slowed down in front of her house, putting the Audi in park in her driveway next to her truck. "Pissed me off."

"About what?" I couldn't tell if she was genuinely curious or whether she was trying to get under my skin. Either way, it was working.

"My mom." I saw her posture change immediately as she sat up straight. Apparently, she didn't like that fact. I knew that Emmett had lost his mother at a young age and probably didn't remember much about her, but you would have thought that that would make him more sensitive to the attacking of someone's mother.

"Emmett wouldn't say anything about anyone's mom." She said quietly, though her tone didn't tell me that she entirely believed what she was saying.

"Well . . . he did." I turned to look at her, my expression completely serious. "The only thing that will _ever_ provoke a violent reaction out of me is an insult towards Esme."

"Why would he say stuff about her, though?" She mused, almost to herself. She thought for a moment before pulling out her phone and texting someone quickly, turning back to me with a smile. "I'll find out why he said that stuff."

"You really don't need to." I shook my head, wondering what the hell was going on with this girl. This couldn't be the same Bella Swan that tormented me before I left. Had I travelled into some kind of alternate universe upon my return to Forks or something? There was no way that Bella would ever go out of her way to find something out or stop something from happening for me. What the hell was going on? "Don't you need to get your stuff?" I motioned towards the house and she started slightly as though she had forgotten where we were.

"Did, um . . . did you wanna come in?" She asked, looking slightly nervous for some reason. I shrugged, not really knowing what to do. "It's just, my mom's here, so I wasn't sure if you wanted to . . ." She let her sentence trail off at the end, allowing me to make up my mind as I saw fit.

Yeah, Twilight Zone, here I am.

"Sure." I shrugged again, taking the keys out of the ignition of the car. "Why not?"

"I warn you, she's usually at her most freaky right when I get home from school." She laughed slightly, looking a little nervous. Bella was _nervous_? Since when did that happen? I had known her to do flips and get thrown around in the air without a care in the world. Why would she be so nervous about me seeing her mother? It wasn't as though I was a prospective boyfriend meeting her father for the first time. I _had_ met her parents before after all and the chance of me becoming a prospective boyfriend to Bella was even less likely than me winning the Nobel Peace Prize for putting off a fight with Jacob and Emmett.

Yeah, not happening.

"Your mom's not a freak." I told her as we climbed out of the car, closing the door. As soon as her door was shut, I locked the car. It wasn't as though Forks was number one on the most dangerous cities list, but hey, this car is my baby. Can you blame me? What I'd said about Renee was true. She wasn't a freak, though to Bella she might seem that way. You always view your parents differently to how others do. "She's just a bit . . . eccentric . . . that's all."

"Right." Bella rolled her eyes as she took her keys out of her bag, sliding one into the lock on her front door. "And I never said she was 'a freak'. I said she was 'freaky'. There's a difference."

"There is?" I raised an eyebrow at her and she raised a shoulder, indicating that she didn't really have an answer for me. She smiled at me as she closed the door and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of game she was playing. It was obvious that something was going on. There was no way that Bella would be acting this way around me, _towards_ me, unless there was something else going on.

"I'll be right back." She said quietly before running up the stairs.

I took a moment to look around at her house.

It was large. Not as large as my house but then again, there wasn't a place in Forks that was. The entryway was a large cream colour, somewhere between beige and cream, yet not really settling on either. It made the space look bigger than it already was. From what I could see of the kitchen, it was all marble and stainless steel, like ours was, but then again I reasoned that it must have been Esme that designed the house, especially considering that Renee was her best friend. The dark surface of the countertops contrasted with the light walls and pale brown cabinets running along the walls. I couldn't really see into the rest of the kitchen, but knowing Esme, there was a separate table and breakfast bar in there, just like there was in our house, even though we had a separate dining room that we always used. Well, the breakfast bar got used, but the table in the kitchen never did. I often wondered why it was there.

Looking in the other direction, I could see the corner of what appeared to be their living room. It was the same base colour as the rest of the house. That colour in between beige and cream. There was probably a name for it, but hell if I knew. I wasn't the interior designer. My mom was. Didn't mean I gained any of her knowledge.

From what I could see, there were leather couches and expensive looking furniture pieces situated in that room. The only thing I could see that gave away the fact that a man lived here was the old recliner that was tucked away in the corner, no doubt giving the one sitting in it a perfect view of the television. I knew through Carlisle, that Charlie liked his football, so I knew that the chair was his.

"Edward!" I was shocked out of my slight exploration of the Swan household by an incredibly over-excited voice startling me so that I nearly jumped a foot in the air. "How lovely to see you. What are you doing here?"

I turned to see Renee making her way down the stairs quickly, grinning from ear to ear as though someone had just told her she'd won the lottery. Not that she needed to. What with Charlie's eye for stocks, they were never left wanting. But then again, who was I to talk?

"Um, Bella's staying over at my house again, for the project." I made sure that I tacked that on the end, ensuring that she didn't get any ideas about anything. "She's just grabbing some stuff."

"So you drove her home?" Her eyes were filled with something I couldn't really place and I nodded slowly, wondering how to answer her.

"Well, Charlie dropped her off last night, so she didn't have another way to get to school. I drove us in and we decided it would be easier if she stayed at mine again." I shrugged, hoping that she would drop the subject. I wasn't sure how she was reading into this situation, but something told me it was more than 'my daughter's doing a project with him'. I didn't want to think of how she was viewing this.

She reached up slowly, her thumb brushing against my cheek. "So handsome." She breathed, as though talking to herself. She snapped out of it quickly though, taking her hand away from me and grinning widely. "Isabella could do a lot worse than you."

I was about to correct her on the fact that there wasn't anything happening between Bella and I, but was interrupted by Bella making a reappearance at the top of the stairs, sighing and huffing at her mother, clearly unhappy about the fact that she was talking to me. Was she embarrassed of her mother?

"Come on." She smiled at me and shot a glance at her mom. I wasn't completely sure what it meant, considering I didn't have that 'mother/daughter' thing going on. If I did, I'd be very worried.

We left the house pretty quickly after that, Bella seeming a little tense after the short visit to her home.

"Are you alright?" The words were out of my mouth before I could even properly think about saying them. I guess it was a compulsion I had to make sure that people are okay.

"Okay, I guess." She said quietly, gazing out the window and playing with the hem of her shirt.

"It was your mother, wasn't it?" I guessed and her head snapped towards me. "You didn't want her talking to me."

"That's not it." She sighed, shaking her head and resuming her gaze out the window. "I mean, in some way it is, but, for the most part, it's not." She let out a breath, looking at me. "It's complicated."

"Fair enough." I didn't know what was going on with me, but something in me wanted to know what was going on between Bella and her mother. Wanted to know what could stand in between that bond of mother and child. I know that not everyone could have a relationship with their parents like I did with mine, but that still didn't make me feel any better.

We pulled up to my house around a minute or two later and once the door to the garage opened completely I noticed that both my mother and father were home. That was odd. Normally – unless he had a day off – my father wasn't home until late. He took the day shift at the hospital, so that he could be around for me and my mom more, preferring to work when I was in school and Esme was running around doing her own thing. Him being home before six o'clock was a rarity. So I was a little confused.

After closing the garage door, I let Bella and myself into the house through the small side door that led into the utility room just off from the kitchen.

"Edward?" I heard my mom call as we walked through. I slipped off my shoes and left them in the rack as Bella did the same.

"Yeah, mom." I called and she walked into the kitchen, a smile on her face as she saw me, and evidently, Bella standing there.

"Carlisle and I are headed over to the Swans' for dinner tonight." She informed me and I nodded. "Kind of a parents catch-up night. Will you two be okay here by yourselves tonight?"

"Was the house still intact when you got home this morning?" I asked her and she looked at me, slightly confused and raised an eyebrow. "We'll be fine, mom. It's not as though we're five."

"Maybe you shouldn't act like it so much then, should you?" She grinned at me, ruffling my hair.

"Hey!" I squirmed away from her as she giggled at me. Even though she was my mom, seeing and hearing her giggle was something I was never going to get used to. It was just too weird.

"How are you, Bella?" She asked, striking up a conversation with Bella. I looked in the fridge, noticing that the leftover potato and vegetable bake was in the fridge and I smirked to myself.

Bella quickly made her way over to me, smiling slightly as she approached, following me up to my room where she deposited her things on my couch – which was still laid out like a bed. I noticed that she had made it this morning, making it look more presentable rather than leaving it as it was when she'd woken up. Maybe she was a little more courteous than I had given her credit for, but then again, I thought back to how she had been before I left and snubbed that notion out.

My parents left at about six-thirty, claiming that they didn't know when they'd be back. I knew that it wouldn't be too late because of the fact that they were going to the Swans' and I knew that Charlie would be freaking about his little girl being left alone with a boy.

The scandal.

I slid the bake into the oven to reheat it, a prospect Bella didn't actually seem to mind very much. She admitted that Esme's cooking was incredible and even went so far as to tell me that I seemed to have picked up her culinary skills. I wasn't really sure how to take that, but I decided to let it go as a compliment. I wasn't going to get too many more of those, so better make the most of it while I can. She was probably only being civil for the sake of the project. Like I was.

Taking the bake out of the oven, I dished it out onto two plates, placing on in front of her while allowing the glass dish to cool off before washing it out. I remembered once that James hadn't done that and the whole thing shattered. Explaining that to his mom had been fun. Or at least, fun to _watch_.

As we were making our way through the food that was sat in front of us, in a relatively comfortable silence – something I never thought would happen between Bella and I – there was a loud banging on the door.

I looked up at Bella, who stared back, a look of utter confusion on her face as I stood up and made my way to the door. The fact that the lights were on inside made it so that I couldn't really see who was on the other side of the glass door. Other than the fact that they were big. I rolled my eyes, knowing who it was, but also knowing that I couldn't just turn around and walk away because they had no doubt seen me already. One of the downsides to having a wall practically made out of glass.

"What?" I opened the door to find Jacob, Emmett – who was sporting a nice shiner – Tanya, Lauren, Jessica and Rosalie standing on my doorstep, grinning at me.

"Eddie!" Jacob cried, though the nickname I hated wasn't said as though someone was greeting a friend. It was an 'I'm-saying-it-like-this-because-I-know-it-gets-under-your-skin' type of greeting. He pushed past me and into the house, the others following, the girls – other than Rose – smirking and smiling at me, wiggling their fingers as they passed.

"Come the fuck in, why don't you?" I mumbled to myself, following them, closing the door. They might be leaving momentarily but hey, it's Forks. It's fucking freezing once the sun goes down.

"What are you guys doing here?" Bella sounded as shocked and confused at their sudden appearance as I was, but I didn't know whether or not to believe that she didn't know they were coming. I mean, how else could they have found the entrance to my driveway. It was clear that they'd been drinking.

"We came to save you from the geek." Jacob pointed at me, flinging an arm around Bella, pulling her to him. She didn't look at all comfortable and tried to pull away from him, finally succeeding. "And . . ." He added in a loud whisper. I think he thought he was being quiet. "We wanted to see what his house looked like, 'cause you were the only one to ever see it."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "There was a reason for that. All of you. Out. Now." I pointed towards the door and noticed Emmett making his way over to me out of the corner of my eye. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, that's not fair, is it, Eddie?" He tutted as he got closer. "I mean, we come out all this way to see you and Bellarella and this is how you greet us."

"You want another shiner to match that eye?" I asked him casually, watching his mock disapproving expression turn into a scowl. "Because I'd be happy to oblige."

"Fuck you, Cullen." He spat, grabbing Rosalie by the waist and pulling her to him.

I looked for Jessica, Lauren and Tanya but I couldn't see them anywhere. I saw a dim light coming from upstairs and bolted up there, cursing to myself. I didn't want to leave those two fuckers downstairs without supervision, but I had a feeling that those three skanks were in my room.

And lo and behold! I was right.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" I practically spat as I discovered the three of them going through my personal things. "Get the fuck out of my room and get the fuck out of my house."

"That's not a very nice thing to say, is it, Eddie?" Tanya crooned, running a finger over my sound system and across my music as she made her way towards me.

Lauren and Jessica started approaching me as well and pretty soon, they were either side of me, while Tanya was in front of me, batting her eyelashes as I stared her down.

"Get the fuck out of my house." I glared one more time, moving away from them and motioning for them to go down the stairs. The reluctantly did, obviously not happy about being kicked out of a males bedroom – probably not something that's happened to them before – and slowly descended the stairs. I glanced around the room, making sure that nothing had been taken. I flicked off the light and closed the door, locking it as I heard someone bashing on my piano downstairs. "Shit!"

I flew down the stairs, nearly knocking the three tarts over with my speed as I raced into my music room.

"Jake, stop it." I heard Bella practically shouting at him, though it was clear that he wasn't taking any notice.

When I stormed into the room, I could see Bella standing there, a stressed and apologetic look on her face as she saw me there. Rose and Emmett were laughing at Jake's battering of my piano. At least they were before I slammed the lid down on his fingers. He yelped and glared up at me.

"What's your problem?" Did he really just have the audacity to ask that question.

"My problem?" I scoffed, shaking my head and laughing. "My problem is that you all arrive unannounced and uninvited at my house and barge your way in. My problem is that I've just found the three whores of Forks rifling through my things in my bedroom. My problem is that I have some fucking oaf beating the shit out of my piano." I turned to Jake, who was still rubbing his fingers as he looked at me. "This piano is a Steinway. Do you know how much this cost? How much it's worth?" He answer me, instead glaring at the grand piano in front of him. My parents had bought it for me for my fifteenth birthday. My dad had wanted to get me a baby grand, but my mother reasoned that seeing as they were going for a Steinway anyway, why not spend the extra money and get me a full-sized grand. The reasoning of my mother. I'll never understand. "Well, let me put it this way. This piano," I tapped it with my finger, not breaking eye contact with him, "probably cost more than your house." I looked at the others, who were staring at me. Bella looked exhausted. "Now, all of you! Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. House."

They didn't argue with me, each looking at each other before making their way out of my house. Jacob and Emmett were reluctant to go, probably wanting the physical fight. I wouldn't fight them. Not in the house, but hey, I wasn't above calling Charlie. I know it was petty, but hey, if they fuck with my piano, what else do they expect.

"Edward, I'm so sorry." I turned around to see Bella standing there, her eyes wide as I leaned against the doorframe, sighing gently. "I didn't know that they were going to come round here. I swear."

I looked at her for a moment, judging how she was with her body language. There was nothing about her stance or expression that made me think she was lying and I had enough experience with Bella lying to get herself out of something. I was sure that she was telling the truth this one time.

"I believe you." I said softly and she looked relieved at my words, nodding.

"Is the piano okay?" She asked, sounding worried about it as she glanced behind her towards my music room. "I tried to get him to stop. I know that Steinways are pretty pricey."

"Pretty?" I raised my eyebrows at her. "I wasn't kidding when I said about the cost of this thing. A decent Steinway can for anywhere around two hundred." I explained, checking the piano over for any damage.

"Dollars?" She sounded confused and I looked up at her, seeing her face scrunched up as she tried to match the price with my words from a little while ago.

"Thousand . . . dollars." Her eyes widened as she gazed at the instrument in front of me.

I stood up, satisfied that Jacob hadn't done any damage to my piano and made my way out of the room, indicating for Bella to follow, which she did without any questions.

"I'm really sorry about this Edward." She whispered again and I waved her off, sitting down at my discarded meal. It was still slightly warm which just went to show how quick the whole ordeal had been.

"Why the hell did they come here?" I asked her and she shook her head as she slid onto the seat.

"I don't know." She whispered, picking up her fork and spearing a piece of potato. "But I'm sure as hell going to find out." Her tone held a determined edge to it and I didn't doubt her words.

The question was: what good would it do me?

**Sorry for any mistakes made. I'll rectify them at some point in the next day or so. But it's 3:25am here in the UK and I really need to sleep because I have to be up in two hours. Night night.**

**Leave me some love. Please.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: It's the New Year. I'm sick and I **_**still**_** don't own Twilight. Feel my pain.**

**_Hope everyone had a better New Years than I did. I was bedridden at the time and I hated it._**

**_Whoot, Shelb! Managed to sneak away to get this chapter up. I hope you enjoy it._**

_**7**__**th**__** September 2009**_

_**Bella**_

The rage I was feeling at my friends soared as I stormed across the parking lot towards them at school the day after they decided that they were going to crash Edward's house.

Edward might not be my friend – actually I had no idea what we were. Where we sort of friends or just two people doing a project. I had the feeling it was the project one, but I kind of wanted it to be more. Wasn't my decision though. – but I sure as hell wasn't going to let their behaviour last night slide.

There were things you just don't do.

"Hey, Bells." Jake grinned at me, pushing himself off of his truck and stepping towards me.

"Don't you 'hey Bells' me, Jake." I snapped, glaring at the rest of them, other than Jasper and Alice who were looking confused about what was going on. Not that I could really blame them. They hadn't been there last night, after all. I doubted that they had anything to do with what happened. According to Alice, Jasper and Edward had been civil to each other and I don't think either of them wanted to ruin that. It was a start for them, at least.

"What's got your panties in a twist, Babybells?" Emmett laughed, holding Rosalie tight to him as he watched something move behind me. I knew that he was watching Edward cross the parking lot, seeing as he had gotten out of the car after me.

"Yeah, what's your problem?" Tanya folded her arms over her chest, flaunting the plasticity of them. Yes, the rumours are true. Tanya Denali's boobs are fake.

"My problem?" I scoffed, shaking my head at them. "My problem? My problem happens to be the fact that you six decided you were going to invade Edward's home last night."

"You guys did what?" Alice's jaw dropped open as she stared at the others in the group. "Why? Why would you guys do that?"

"Thought it'd be funny." Jake shrugged, smirking at me. "You gotta admit, Bella. It was funny."

"No." I shook my head at him, looking around the rest of the group. "You realise that if he wanted to Edward could have told my dad? He could have called him as soon as you all turned up and you could have spent the night in a cell. Now, that would have been funny. You're just lucky you didn't damage that piano. That thing is worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars Jake."

I waited for a moment for that news to sink in, but I wasn't graced with the realisation that what they had done was a stupid thing. I was graced with . . . Lauren.

"Sounds like someone is crushing on the geek." She smirked, causing Jess to giggle.

"No, Lauren." I smirked back, only mine was a lot more intimidating than hers was and hers disappeared. "I just know that there's no point in antagonising someone who knows your plan of attack better than you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" That caught Rosalie's attention and she unwrapped herself from Emmett's arms, stepping over to me.

"You heard what I said, Rose." I replied, looking up at her. She stared down at me, her blue eyes fierce, but I knew that I couldn't back down on this. Fucking with Edward was way out of their league. They obviously didn't realise how smart he actually was. Even after only two days of staying with him, I could see it now. I could see where he would best us. So I wasn't even going to bother.

Besides, I had put him through enough shit before he left. He didn't deserve any more.

"You guys really don't know how smart he is, do you?" I looked at them only to receive blank stares or, in Jake's case, a glare that might be worth something. "He will be able to anticipate anything you come up with because he knows how everyone in this group operates. And before anyone says anything, that doesn't mean that you should change the way you do things, it means give up. Now. Or the shit he pulls on you will be worse than what you do to him. I think Emmett's shiner says it all, don't you?"

"Hey!" Emmett pushed himself off the side of his Jeep, stepping up behind Rose. "He only managed to give me that because he took me by surprise!"

"That's what I mean." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "He has the surprise factor. _You_," I pointed at all of them, "don't."

"Whatever." Tanya flicked her hair over her shoulder, looking me up and down. "I think someone has a crush on the geek."

"Well . . ." Alice bit her lip, running her fingers up and down Jazz's arm. "Who can blame her?" She gave me a sly wink that I know Jasper saw as he smirked into her hair. "He has gotten hot."

"That he has." I mused and the other girls looked in thought for a moment. "And I don't think he qualifies as a geek anymore."

I nodded to Alice and Jasper and we turned around, making our way into the building. The others started following us almost immediately and I knew that I was still top of the heap.

"Bells!" I heard Jake running up behind me and let out a small groan as he caught up. I really couldn't be bothered with this shit today. Couldn't he take a hint. "Hey, um, what Alice said, about Cullen?"

"What about it?" I stopped by my locker and plugged in the combination, opening it and grabbing what I needed for first period.

"You weren't being serious, were you?" He leaned against the locker next to mine as he spoke and I couldn't hold back the eye roll that threatened its way out as I turned to face him.

"What does it matter if I was, Jake?" I shot back and I knew exactly what he was going to say. "Don't even answer that, please. Look, Jake. You and I are finished. Over. And we are _not_ getting back together. I know it sounds harsh or whatever, but it's true. It's been what? Almost five months since we've been together, Jake, so you know what, you can really drop the overprotective boyfriend bit because it doesn't apply anymore, nor will it again."

I closed my locker and made my way into English, slamming my books down so hard that Alice jumped and Rosalie scowled at me.

"What's up with you?" She remarked, sounding utterly bored, resting her head on hand and looking at me, a small smirk on her face as she watched me huff.

"Jacob fucking Black." I growled and her smirk turned into a giggle.

"Still not leaving you alone?" Alice asked, a smirk on her face and her eyes flashing dangerously. She had never really approved of Jacob – well, neither of them had, actually – and I could see the wheels turning in her evil little pixie head.

"No, he's fucking not." I sighed, running my hands through my hair. Somehow I knew today was going to be stressful, which was why I was glad the way I had done it, it didn't matter if you ran your hands through it over a hundred times, it remained in style.

"I don't think he ever will." Rose sighed, looking between the two of us with an eyebrow raised. "I think he's just going to follow Bella around like a little lost puppy dog for pretty much the rest of his life."

"Please don't say that, Rose." I moaned, dropping my head into my hands. "He needs to move on. I mean, yeah, what we had was good, but there was no spark there. I mean, you've gotta have the spark, right?" I looked between the two of them and they both nodded.

"Maybe he just needs a push in the opposite direction." Rose suggested, making a small pushing movement with her hands as she spoke. "Away from Bella."

"Right, this is Jacob we're talking about." Alice snickered lightly. "He doesn't do hints, remember?"

"This is true." She nodded and I sighed, resting my head on my books.

We had to cut our conversation short when the teacher came in, but I knew that this wasn't the end of it. Neither of the two of them understood why I had gone out with Jake in the first place, though I knew that that was because neither of them knew the Jake that I knew. All they knew was the Jake he had been when I was going out with him. Pushing my problems with Jake to the back of my mind, I tried to concentrate on what was going on in the lesson, but couldn't as my mind kept springing back to one thing.

Edward.

I couldn't keep my mind off him lately.

What was up with that?

_**Edward**_

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I remembered the expression on Bella's face as we'd pulled into the parking lot at school that morning. It was one of pure rage.

I knew that she didn't have anything to do with what had happened last night, but considering my parents noticed that there was something different in the atmosphere from when they left, it had to have been noticeable that something had happened. They didn't question it, but I knew that they knew something was up.

Couldn't get anything past them.

"Hi," I looked up to see a small girl that I recognised from a couple of my classes standing across the table I was sitting at. "I'm Brittany. We have a couple of classes together."

"Yeah, I recognise you." I smiled up at her and she grinned back, her blue eyes shining. "I'm Edward." She nodded slightly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, nervously.

"Can I sit?" She gestured towards the seat on the opposite side of the table and I nodded, gesturing towards it. "Thanks." I could see there were a couple of people milling about, probably wondering about the exchange that was going on here. "Um, I was wondering if I could ask you something." She bit her lip, her eyes downcast slightly.

"Everything okay?" I folded my arms on the table in front of me, waiting for her to explain.

"Okay," she blew out a deep breath, wringing her hands on the table in between us. "This is really embarrassing but . . . would you be able to help me with History? I mean, you're really smart and really good at it and I'm kind of . . . flunking. I _really_ need your help."

"Sure." I shrugged, giving her a small smile and she grinned at me. I knew for a fact that she was flunking History because Mr. Jenson made it no secret which students were passing and which were flunking. It was only because I managed to retain whatever information was given to me, I was passing. My mother often called me a sponge.

"Thank you so much!" She breathed, sounding relieved. "You have no idea how much you have just saved my ass."

"I think I can guess." I chuckled and she blushed a little. "So when did you want to meet up?"

"Um, I'm free any time, really." She shrugged, sounding slightly pissed at that fact if I'm being honest. "My parents won't let me see anyone until I pick up my grades."

"They've gotta be worried about you if they're doing that." I reasoned and she nodded, sighing gently.

"I know they are, but it's not like I'm staying out all night getting fucked off of whatever I can and flunking. I mean, I have a curfew – which I stick to – I get all my work done but I still don't have any idea what's going on." She sounded really defeated and it sounded like she was flunking more than one subject.

"Is it just History you're doing badly in?" She looked up at me, her eyes sad and she shook her head. "If you want, I could help you out in some other subjects as well."

"Oh, no! I couldn't ask you to do that!" She shook her hands in front of her and I shook my head, chuckling as she sat there panicking in front of me. "I mean, it's enough you helping me with History, I couldn't ask you to do anymore than that. I can maybe find someone else to help me."

"What's the point in having half a dozen tutors when all you need is one?" I shrugged, leaning back a little.

"Are you sure?" She didn't look certain about my reasoning, her brows furrowing as she thought about it.

"Absolutely." I nodded, smiling at her. "I would rather help you out than know that you're struggling. Seriously, it's fine."

"Thank you so much." She grinned just as the bell signalling the end of lunch rang. "Thank you. Really."

"Hang on a sec." I pulled out a notebook and wrote my number down, tearing it off for her. "That's my number. Gimme a call when you work out when you're free with your parents."

"Thanks." She folded up the paper and slipped it into her pocket, grinning at me. We both stood up, getting our stuff for whatever class we had next. "I really don't get how people can like History, it's just so . . ."

"Boring?" She looked at me, confused and I chuckled. "One thing: I might be good at History, but I hate it. Simple as. Don't worry, I'll still help you."

"Thanks." She grinned, spotting someone waiting for her out of the corner of her eye. "Well, bye."

"Bye." I turned towards the building, making my way to my locker to grab my book for Biology and deposit books that I wouldn't need until tomorrow.

As I made my way into Biology I saw that Bella was already at our table, a sour look on her face as I sat down next to her.

"What did Brittany want?" She asked, a note of venom in her tone. One that caused my curiosity to pique as she sat there obviously waiting for an answer.

"Why?" I asked, using the annoying 'answer a question with another question' answer, which I knew for a fact _everyone_ hated.

"Because she's a little bitch faker and I wouldn't want you to be the next person to fall for her little lies." She shrugged, opening her notebook and doodling in the corner of the page.

"She just needs some help with some stuff." I frowned, realising that I had left my book in my bag. Grabbing it, I noticed Bella looking at me with a strange expression on her face.

"She needs tutoring?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So what if she does?"

"Nothing, I just thought that she was brainy enough not to need any help like that." She replied evasively as she chewed on the end of her pen, gazing out the window. I had gathered that Bella didn't like Brittany, so I didn't want to know what she would do with that kind of information.

"Don't tell anyone, Bella." I warned and she looked at me, her eyes wide.

"I'm not going to. What kind of a person do you think I am?" She sounded offended and I raised my eyebrows at her, basically telling her that she could cut the crap because it wasn't washing with me. "Seriously, I promise, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Well, forgive me, but I don't really trust you." She looked slightly defeated at my words and I couldn't help but wonder why.

"What can I do to get you to?" She asked, the sincerity in her voice ringing true.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, making myself sound indifferent, when I was actually very intrigued by her question. Hmm . . . what could I get Bella Swan to do?

"What I mean, is that, even though I know I probably never will be able to, I want to try and make up for how I treated you before you left. You didn't deserve it and I know that now." I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and saw that she had her head bowed slightly, her hair covering her face as her hands fidgeted in her lap. Was she being truthful? I knew that there was one way I could find out. And I had found it on the net last night.

"What do you mean, make up for it?" I asked, my voice still steady as though I wasn't really fussed.

"Well . . . that's up to you." She sighed and I could feel her gazing at me. "I want to make things okay, Edward. I get that they probably never will be, but I want to try."

"Are you saying that _anything_ I can come up with, you'll do?"

"Well, nothing like _that_." She specified. _Okay, wrong and ew._ "But yeah . . . I'll try at least."

We had to end our conversation there because Mr. Banner walked in and started his lecture, hoping that we were all getting on well with our projects, stating that we wouldn't be focusing on it this class.

Because I had already covered this class's topic back in Chicago, I knew what was going on and what he was going to be telling us, so I spent the class coming up with something suitable for Bella. I knew that what I had in mind would make her freak, but hey, she was the one who suggested it. I don't think she had what I did in mind though.

_If you're serious about what you said, then we're going to Port Angeles after school._

I slid her the note and she glanced at me before sliding it the rest of the way over to her side and read it. I could see the confusion on her face as she wrote back, sliding the piece of paper back to me.

_**I am serious. And what are we going there for?**_

I couldn't help but smirk at her curiosity as I wrote back.

_We'll see how serious you really are. And you'll find that out when we get there._

I passed her the note back and there was just enough time for her to read it before the bell rang.

"Why Port Angeles?" She asked as she packed up her things, eyeing me curiously.

"You'll see." I smirked, walking out of the room, leaving a confused Bella in my wake.

How would she react to what I had in mind for her.

* * *

"No way!" She exclaimed, getting out of the car and stared straight in front of her. "No way! I am not getting a tattoo!"

"Who said anything about a tattoo?" I shrugged indifferently. "Whether you get a tatt or a piercing is up to you. If you get a tatt, you can choose, but if it's a piercing, then it's my choice." I smirked at her indignant attitude. "You said 'anything' remember?"

"But I-" She stopped, remembering her words from earlier in the day. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yup." I grinned, popping the 'p'. "Come on." I motioned for her to come on and she did slowly.

We walked into the shop and I immediately felt at home, what with having spent so much time in the one in Chicago, getting my own tatts and piercings done.

"Decided what you want?" I asked her as she stood there, her eyes wide as she looked over the different designs on the walls, wincing when she heard the buzz of the machine in the back room. "Have you ever been in one of these places before?" She shook her head slowly. Well, no wonder she was overwhelmed.

"I don't want a tattoo." She said defiantly. "I definitely don't want a tattoo. So now I guess you're going to choose a piercing for me, right?" She looked up at me, pleadingly.

"Yup." I smirked down at her.

"Well, what?" She sounded scared, which was kind of the general feeling when you got something pierced for the first time. "What are you going to have me get done?"

"Ease up on the dramatics." I chuckled and she scowled at me. "It's not like I'm sending you to your death or anything. It's just a little metal bar."

"Easy for you to say." She mumbled and I looked down at her curiously. "You're covered. It's alright for you."

"I wasn't always covered, if you remember correctly." I raised an eyebrow and she nodded, still a little scared.

"What did you get done first?" She asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"My eyebrow." I gestured to it and her eyes widened. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you get your eyebrow done." I chuckled and she relaxed a little.

"So . . . what?" I could tell she was thinking I'd probably go for something perverse, but little did she know I wasn't like that. I knew that she wouldn't want anything that would draw attention at all, so facial was out, as was her naval due to the ridiculousness of cheerleading uniforms. I flicked out my tongue and her eyes widened again. "My tongue?!" I thought her head was going to fly off as she sat there. "You want me to get my tongue pierced?"

"Relax." I shrugged, sitting down. "They can anaesthetize it if you want them to. It doesn't hurt?"

"Why don't I believe you?" Her eyes narrowed at me and I shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt." I shook my head. "Well, it didn't hurt when I got it done anyway."

"Did you have it numbed?" She asked and I shook my head. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"If you're _that_ scared you don't have to get it done." I shrugged and she looked at me, disbelief shining in her eyes.

"No." She shook her head and I saw her determination and resolve click into place as she sat there. "I'll get it done."

"You sure?" I asked and she nodded, looking at me, shrugging a little.

"You two made a decision?" A guy came out from the back, followed by a guy who was putting his shirt back on, handing him a wad of cash. I looked over at Bella, who nodded and stood up.

I wasn't allowed to go back with her and she looked terrified as the guy led her to the back room. I know that I was being mean making her do this, but hey, she had said anything and I was taking her up on that. I knew that anything sexually related was out of the equation, and being perfectly honest, I didn't want anything like that from Bella. It was too weird to think of doing anything like that with anyone in Forks.

* * *

"I hate you." Bella grumbled for the tenth time as I started the car and turned around to make our way back to Forks. "It's throbbing." She whined, looking at me and I chuckled, pulling onto the side of the road and heading into a small shop, emerging a few minutes later. "Why did you go in there?"

"Here." I handed her the bag and she took it, looking at me curiously. "I hope you like lemon. It was all they had."

"I'm confused." She looked at me as she pulled out the packet of ice lollies I had bought.

"They'll help with the swelling and throbbing. Lay it flat on your tongue and let it melt. It helps." I told her and she smiled at me appreciatively, unwrapping one of the lollies and placing it on her tongue. It had helped when I had mine done, and I hoped it did with hers.

"Thanks." She tried to say around the lolly and I had to laugh, making her smile before she turned back to look out of the window. "What are we going to say to your parents when I don't eat any dinner?"

"Just say that we've got stuff to do for the project and we'll make ourselves something later." I shrugged and she nodded. "Little out of your comfort zone on this one, aren't you?"

"Little?" She laughed, placing the lolly on her tongue again as we raced home. "Actually, I'm glad you didn't make me get something else pierced."

"Bella, I might be a guy, but I'm not that crude." I told her honestly. If a girl wanted to get something like that pierced, then it was up to her. No one else. After all, no one else was going to be seeing it, were they? Well, other than significant others, that is.

"I know some guys that are," she said softly and I could feel her gaze on me. "But thanks anyway."

"Don't mention it." I replied, wondering if Bella and I actually had the capacity within us to become friends. I didn't really think so, but after she had resolved herself back in the shop, I was starting to think that maybe she really _was_ serious about what she had said in Biology.

We made it back to my house in forty minutes – at a speed which we wouldn't be telling my mother about – in which time Bella consumed three of the five lollies which were in the packet. She asked me if I wanted one, but declining, I did tell her that there was a cool box underneath her seat. Generally I used it if I wanted to keep drinks cold, but it would serve the right purpose today. It meant that the lollies I'd bought for Bella wouldn't melt on the journey back to Forks.

Bella looked over at me, slightly worried as we pulled up to the house.

"It'll be fine." I told her as we pulled into the garage. "My parents aren't even home yet."

"My parents are always home at this time. Well, unless Charlie has to work a late or double shift, which isn't that often." She shrugged getting out of the car.

"Ah, yes. Law enforcement in Forks. Such a tough job." I shook my head at the notion and she laughed slightly.

"Shut up." She shoved me lightly as we made our way into the house. I had to admit, when it was just the two of us, Bella was completely different to how she was in school. Granted, I didn't know everything but I didn't get that. Why change who you were just because you were around different people? If they didn't like you for who you were then why would you want to be friends with them in the first place? It didn't make any sense to me.

"Are you okay?" Bella's voice pulled me out of my little musing and I nodded quickly.

"Just thinking about some stuff." I mumbled absently and she nodded.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Bella's phone started playing some incredibly tinny sounding pop song. She looked at me in amusement of my reaction before picking it up.

"Hey Alice." She sat in silence for a moment while I heard an answering voice on the other end. "I don't know." Another silence. "Ali, after last night, I really don't think so." She glanced at me and I felt like I had something to do with this conversation. "Do you really think that- Alice!"

"What?" I asked and she looked at me, concerned, biting down on her lip.

"Gimme a sec, Ali." She placed the phone down on the counter and bit her lip again.

"What?" I repeated and she looked at me.

"Alice wants to know if you'd be interested in meeting up with her and Jasper tonight." She sighed, looking at me through her eyelashes. "You don't have you if you don't want. I mean, we could just stay in."

"Just those two?" I raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded. "Sure."

"Really?" She sounded surprised and I nodded. She grinned, picking up the phone again. "Ali? He said yeah. Yeah, yeah, whatever." She rolled her eyes and I chuckled, shaking my head. "Diner?" She looked at me and I nodded. "Cool. See you in an hour." Closing the phone, she looked at me with a small smile on her face. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"I know." I shrugged. "Jasper is pretty much the only one of that group I can stand. Considering Alice's reaction this morning – yes, I saw the whole parking lot fiasco – I figured she might not be as bad as the actions of everyone else make her seem."

"How do you do that?" She asked, sitting down on the sofa next to me, gazing at me in what seemed like awe.

"Do what?" Confused, I turned to face her and she blinked a few times.

"Be so forgiving of everyone." She looked at me, obviously wondering why I was giving people a chance.

"I said I was giving them a chance. Not that they were forgiven." I corrected and she nodded, thinking about something.

"Does that mean they're on the same kind of probation as me?" She asked, curiosity in her voice.

"Well, yeah." I nodded, wondering how to put it simply. "Put it this way, if they had done to you what you all did to me, would you forgive them?"

"Not without them proving that I could trust them first." She nodded, understanding where I was coming from. "We really hurt you, didn't we?"

"Yeah." I nodded, without hesitation. I wasn't going to lie to her and tell her that I knew their reasons for doing what they did. Because I didn't have a clue. "Yeah, you did. And what made it worse, was I had no idea _why_ you treated me like that."

"I'm sorry, Edward." She looked away from me, folding her arms across her front, seeming to fold in on herself and her own silence. "I really am. I know that you probably don't believe me, but . . ."

"At the moment, you're right. I don't believe you." I sighed, thankful to have a chance to get it out. "I think you're saying it because you believe you have to, not because you _are_. I know you might not think that, but from my perspective, that's what I see. Now, we have about forty-five minutes before we have to meet the two of them and I need to show you what you need to use to clean off your tongue."

"Huh?" She looked up at me, confused as I stood up.

"Right now is not the best time to talk about this, because we have to meet up with your friends soon and I don't really feel like being all depressed when we do, and because you've had those lollies, you need to wash your mouth out to clean your tongue. I should have reminded you to do that straight away."

"Okay." She nodded, standing up and following me out of the room and towards mine.

Walking into my room, I flicked on the light and made my way over to my en suite, opening the cupboards I had underneath the sink, scanning them quickly before opening the ones either side of the large mirror.

"Aha!" I grabbed the unopened bottle of mouthwash from the top shelf of the last cupboard I looked in and turned to see Bella standing there, watching me with a confused look on her face. "Antibacterial mouthwash. You'll need to take it to school with you as well."

"What?" She looked up at me as if horrified at the idea of taking a bottle of mouthwash to school. "Why?"

"Were you actually listening when the guy was explaining the aftercare?" I raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed.

"I _was_ listening, but I couldn't understand him. His accent was really strong." She mumbled and I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Okay, I'll admit his accent was really strong, but still." She looked up at me, biting her lip again. I had noticed that she did that whenever she was nervous or frustrated, just like I flicked the ball on my tongue ring against my viperbites. "Alright. You need to wash your mouth out with antibacterial mouthwash after you eat or drink for the next few weeks. Keep it clean and such. It's basically the same as any other piercing, but you have to be careful about what you eat for a little while."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing that's going to aggravate it. Like those crappy cereals people eat. The ones that destroy the inside of your mouth." She grimaced at the mention of those. "Well, I guess those aren't a problem. But stuff like that, you gotta avoid."

"How long did yours take to heal?"

"It's different for everyone. Mine took about two or three months or so to heal completely, but for some it's longer. It depends on how fast you heal, really." I shrugged and she nodded, her mouth opening slightly. I could tell she was testing how much it hurt when she moved her tongue and smirked when she winced in pain. "If you're going to eat tonight, be careful what you order. And take that with you." She nodded and I left her in the bathroom, so she could wash out her mouth in peace.

She reappeared about five minutes later, her face scrunched up in distaste with the mouthwash.

"This," she held it up, shaking it slightly. "Is foul."

"I know." I shrugged, turning back to my laptop, finishing the paragraph I was working on for English and closing it down. "But hey, you want to keep your tongue clean, you gotta put up with it."

"Can't I use a normal mouthwash?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but to be safe I'd use the antibacterial shit." I placed my laptop back on the desk that was against my wall and grabbed my cigarette packet, pulling one out and grabbing my lighter at the same time. I made my way out onto the balcony, feeling Bella following me as I walked out.

"Do you use it?" She asked, having discarded the bottle in the bedroom, probably leaving it with her stuff.

"Not anymore. I used to when I had mine pierced, for the first few weeks anyway, but not anymore. I've had it done for a while now, so I don't need to use it."

"How come you had it in your bathroom, then?" She asked, her voice sounding suspicious.

"My mom bought me that bottle, forgetting I didn't use that one anymore. I usually buy my own toiletries, so I don't know why she figured she buy me it." I shook my head, taking a drag of my cigarette.

"So you kept it?" She still sounded slightly suspicious, as though I had planned today before Biology class this afternoon.

"Figured I might as well, in case I ran out before I had a chance to buy some more of what I _do_ use."

"Fair enough." She nodded, looking out into the inky blackness of the trees that surrounded my house. "Don't the trees ever . . . scare you, at all? I mean, when you think of what could be out there in them?"

"No." I shook my head, slowly. "I know what's out there and I know where it leads. And honestly, I don't think there are many psychopaths out patrolling the woods behind my house, do you?" I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged, saying something that sounded like 'you never know'. "These woods were my sanctuary. Nothing could reach me in these woods. No matter how shitty my day had been, walking through these woods would make it all disappear."

"I have a place like that." She sighed gently. "It's where I go to calm down and get a perspective on everything. To "defreak" as it were."

"Everyone needs a place like that. These woods," I gestured to the trees in front of me. "Are mine."

"Maybe I'll show you mine sometime." She smiled at me, her eyes widening a little. "Did I just lisp?"

"Not that I heard." I grinned, finding this amusing.

"Jeez, Alice is going to be able to tell immediately." She whined, watching as I flicked the finished cigarette into the darkness before opening the door and starting to freak. "She's going to know and we all know how that little imp is with keeping secrets. Oh my God. It's going to swell overnight, isn't it? Then everyone's gonna know and it's going to get back to Charlie and Renee – not that I'm worried about her – but Charlie knowing means that I'm going to be grounded for the rest of forever." She looked over at me, glaring when she saw that I was chuckling at her. "It's not funny!"

"Really is." I grinned, folding my arms over my chest as I watched her.

"What am I going to do?" She looked at me, her eyes boring into mine for an answer. "Charlie is going to kill me."

"How long until you're eighteen?" She looked at me as if to say 'what the fuck does that have to do with anything?'. "When are you eighteen?" I asked again and she thought for a moment.

"In . . . six days." She looked over at me again.

"Well then, if you're really that worried about Charlie flipping when he finds out you've got it done, all you have to do is make sure he doesn't find out until you're eighteen. Then he can't do anything about it."

"Aren't you supposed to be eighteen to get your tongue pierced?" She asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"Technically, yes, but the guy didn't ask for ID, so meh." She laughed at my reasoning and I couldn't help but grin back. "Look, you've got it done. All he can do is be pissed at you."

"And take away my freedom." She sighed, looking worried about her father's reaction.

"Not after you're eighteen." I smirked at her and she sighed, shaking her head at me. "Come on, we're gonna be late if we don't leave now."

She looked at the clock, her eyes widening slightly as she registered what the time was. We quickly made our way out to the garage, slipping on shoes and jackets as we went.

"Thank you, for this." She said softly as we made our way down my driveway.

"For what?" I asked, manoeuvring my way down the small lane with expert ease as though I hadn't ever been away. It still amazed me at how quickly I had adapted back into Forks weather and the greenness of everything.

"Coming with me to meet them." She sighed gently, looking back out of her window. "It can't be easy for you."

"Not as hard as you think." I replied honestly. I had been telling the truth when I'd said what I had about Jasper and Alice. The two of them weren't the main aggravators of the group and if what Jasper had said about Alice was true, then I would give her a chance to say her piece. As long as the others didn't show up tonight, then I would be okay. Though I wouldn't be opposed to giving Emmett another black eye. What I'd said about giving them a chance, without forgiving them, was true. My mother had always drilled into me to give people a second chance, and that was the kind of person I was. If I wasn't, I most definitely would not have been laughing with Bella a little while ago.

It took us four and a half minutes to get to the diner and she looked nervously into the parking lot for Alice's Porsche, which was easy to spot. Being bright yellow and all.

"You're sure I don't have a lisp, right?" She looked at me, her eyes wide and I could tell that it was something she was really worried about. Why, I couldn't tell. If she did, it would last for a few days while the swelling went down and that was it.

"Not that I can hear." I told her honestly. "Why's it such a big deal if you do?" I asked, shrugging and she looked over at me as we climbed out of the car. "If you do, it'll be there for a few days while the swelling goes down and then it'll be gone. Simple as."

"I guess." She sighed as we made our way into the tiny diner. Even though this town only had three thousand people in it, it was hard to believe that this was the only real place to eat.

"Bella! Edward!" I heard Alice's voice carry across the busy diner, causing a few disgruntled patrons to glance annoyed at Alice. Either she didn't notice them or didn't care, because her smile didn't falter as she waved us over to where the two of them were sitting. "Hi!"

"How much coffee has she had?" Bella asked, sliding into the booth, watching Alice warily as I sat down next to Bella and opposite the hyperactive pixie.

"She actually hasn't." Jasper replied, placing an arm around her waist, evidently trying to calm her down. Not really succeeding, I might add.

"You've had your tongue pierced!" She shrieked, placing a hand over her mouth when she realised she might have been a little too loud. I couldn't help but laugh at Bella's 'WTF' expression. She hadn't said more than six words and she was caught out on it. "You have! When? Where? Did it hurt? Did Edward go with you? Did you go with her? Why did you get it done? Can I see?"

"Alice, sweetie, shush now." I had to laugh when Jasper placed a hand over Alice's mouth, effectively silencing her while she calmed. "Are you okay now?" She nodded and he removed his hand. I waited for the barrage of questions, but she seemed to have calmed down enough that there wasn't one.

"Can I see?" She asked, getting excited again. Thankfully, this time, it seemed like she had it under control. Bella sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend before poking out her tongue. Alice's little clapping fit was enough to get both Jasper and I laughing at the two of them.

"But you can't tell anyone. I don't want it getting back to my dad." She warned and Alice grinned, making a 'cross my heart' sign, which obviously meant she wouldn't be telling.

"How are you going to hide it from him?" She asked taking a sip of the drink she had in front of her.

"I don't know." She looked at me and I shrugged. I didn't have to hide mine from my parents. They were pissed when I came home with a bar through my tongue, but they accepted that it was there. Now all they got pissed at was when I clicked it against my teeth or viperbites.

"Just don't whack it against your teeth. That's a dead giveaway." I told her and she nodded slowly, taking that in.

"And how would you know?" Alice asked, her eyes narrowing at me in a playful way. I really hoped that that coke was a caffeine free one. I stuck my tongue out at her, showing her the ball nestled in the centre of it and she grinned. "That's so cool."

"It's whatever." I shrugged, looking up as a waitress walked up to our table.

"Hi," she smiled down at me, fluttering her eyelashes. Since when did girls believe that actually worked? Well, with guys who weren't manwhores, that is? "Are you guys ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?"

"We'll need a couple more minutes, but in the meantime, I'll have a coke." Bella replied, quite forcefully to the girl, who wrote down Bella's drink order and looked at me.

"Make it two." I smiled at her, hoping she would leave, because she was creeping me out.

"Edward." Alice said softly as the waitress walked away. "Can I talk to you?" She looked around for a moment. "Outside?"

"Sure." I nodded, getting up as Alice did the same, sharing a smile with Jasper.

I followed Alice out of the diner and pulled my cigs out of my pocket while she stood there for a moment, probably working out what she was going to say.

"Okay . . . um," she looked up at me, shyly, which was a word I'd never thought I'd ever use when it came to Alice Brandon, but there you go. "I have no idea where to start."

"It's okay." I shrugged my shoulders, taking a drag of my cigarette. "I'm not in any rush."

She smiled at me, gratefully, probably because I wasn't being a douche and making her spit it out. "I just wanted to say that I'm really _really_ sorry, for how I – how we all – treated you before you moved to Chicago, Edward. I knew that it was wrong of them to do all those things to you and I'm just as bad because I never stopped it. I just stood there on the sidelines knowing what was going to happen just as much as they did and I never did anything."

I could hear the tears in her voice as she spoke, looking away from me. "Hey, Jasper already told me that the two of you weren't directly involved. And how if I ever told you that, you'd rip his balls off, so I didn't say that, okay?" She let out a breathy laugh and nodded. "I'm going to tell you what I told Bella earlier, alright?" She nodded, not taking her eyes off me as I stood there, probably looking all types of attacker type. It didn't help that she was tiny and had her arms folded around herself and I was a lot bigger, looking the way I did. I knew I had painted myself as a deviant type, but hey, I don't give a shit what people think. "I'm not forgiving you. Yet. But if you guys prove to me that I can trust you, then we might get there one day. I don't like knowing that people are hurting because of me. I hate it. But you have to understand, that you guys hurt me. I know that you and Jasper might not have done anything directly to me, but not doing anything to stop them hurt just as much. It's going to take a long time for me to trust you all."

"I know." She nodded her head, slowly and sadly. "I'm not asking for instant forgiveness. Only for the chance to maybe be friends with you."

"We can work on it." I smiled and she gave me a watery smile back. I hated to think that she was nearly crying, but those were words I'd had to get out. And I think she knew that.

"Now . . . what's going on with you and Bella?" She asked, blinking a couple of times to try to clear her eyes of the unshed tears.

"I have no idea." I shrugged, taking another drag of my cigarette. "She says she's sorry, but what I just said to you, applies to her as well. She has to earn my trust back-"

"Is that what the tongue piercing is about?" She asked, gesturing with a finger back to the diner.

"She said _anything_." I argued and Alice laughed the little tinkling laugh I always heard in school. I'd always thought it was a fake laugh before now, but seeing the humour in her eyes and the expression on her face, I knew it wasn't. "So I figured, what's something she wouldn't be expecting."

"Did she freak?"

"What do you think?" I shot back and she grinned back at me. "Why did you ask about Bella?"

"Because she practically launched herself across you and the table at the waitress that was eye fucking you where you sat." She stated matter-of-factly, not even blinking.

"Huh?" Was my intelligent reply.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart." She teased, giggling lightly. "Bella likes you. She's gonna kill me for saying this, but she does. And I know what you're thinking. You think it's because of how you look, and yeah, that might have started it, but I think that she really likes you, for you."

"Right." I rolled my eyes as I stubbed out my cigarette. "And Emmett and Jacob are going to walk up to me tomorrow and profess their love."

"Hey, you never know." She stopped, pointing at me in an all knowing kind of way which made me laugh as we walked back into the diner.

We didn't say anything as we sat down, not needing to.

"You guys okay?" Bella asked, looking between us and we both nodded, which caused her to physically relax. I couldn't help but wonder if she really did want her friends and I to get along.

It was going to be a long road and we were only taking the first few steps but as they say, only time will tell.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Alice and Jasper, I couldn't help but feel at ease around Bella. Seeing her with the two of them, it was clear that she was a different person with those two to who she was around all of them. What I couldn't figure out was_ why_?

"They're the only two who really know me." She said softly as we pulled out of the parking lot to the diner, watching as Alice pulled out in the opposite direction, heading towards the town whereas Bella and I were heading to the outskirts. "The only two who really care enough to know me."

"Then why are you friends with everyone else?" I asked, wanting her to clarify this for me. "I mean, if you can't be yourself around them, why be friends with them? Isn't it kind of redundant to hang out with them when they don't know who you really are?"

"When I first started hanging out with them, I think it was that basic need to be liked, whether they knew me or not. I mean, you know what I mean." She looked at me and I shook my head.

"No, actually, I don't." I sighed, rubbing my forehead with my fingers lightly, trying to concentrate on the road and Bella at the same time. It was hard. "You might have felt that basic need to be liked, to be popular, but do you know what I wished for everyday?" She shook her head slowly. "To be left alone." I finished quietly and she looked down at her hands. A small sniff came from her direction and it took all of my willpower not to look in her direction. It wouldn't have been good for me to look at her, especially considering there was an enormous truck coming in the opposite direction. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly and she sniffed again. "There are tissues in the glove-box."

She reached over and pulled a packet out of the large multi-buy pack I had in the glove-box before putting it away.

"It's like, every day, I realise just a little bit more how much we hurt you." She sniffed and I could feel her looking at me as I pulled into my garage and turned off the car. "I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am, Edward." She slowly reached out, her thumb gently running over the scar above my left eye as I looked at her. She sighed gently, taking her hand away and it took all of my willpower to keep myself from touching where her hand had just been. It was as though someone had been pumping an electric current through her and when she had touched me, it had transferred some of it through where our skin had touched. It sounds crazy I know, but hey, it's the only way I can explain it.

My parents were home and sitting in the living room watching some lovey dovey movie as we walked in. They offered for the two of us to watch with them but I declined whereas Bella agreed stating that she loved the movie.

While the three of them watched the movie, I made my way upstairs, and climbed into the shower, washing the crud of the day off of myself, letting the hot water relax my muscles before climbing out. I had brought my pyjamas in here with me, in case Bella came up before the movie finished. I had locked the en suite door, but not the door to my bedroom, considering all of her stuff was in here as well.

Throwing my towel in the hamper as I walked out into my bedroom, I grabbed my cigarettes out of my packet and made my way out onto the balcony, closing the door behind me. I knew I was smoking more and more these days and I knew it had something to do with being back here, but I wasn't sure what.

I stood there, looking out into the blackness of the trees that surrounded the house, wondering what the hell was going on with me and this place. In all the time I had lived here before I moved away, it had never once felt like home. But now, now that people were starting to notice me and actually be civil to me, I was starting to wonder if I could actually have something that resembled a life here. And what about what Alice had said outside the diner, because after the moment the two of us had had in the car, and even though I had only been back a number of days, I couldn't really dispute that there was something there.

What was going on with me and Bella?

Again, I had no idea, but I would sure as hell like to find out.

Hopefully, I could deal with the answer.

_**What do you guys think is happening?**_

_**A couple of you have asked me about the scar above his eye and whether we'll be finding out what happened and the answer is yes but not for a couple of chapters yet.**_

_**It's getting intense.**_

_**Let me know what you think in a review.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Nope, as much as I'd like to, I **_**still**_** don't own Twilight.**

_**10**__**th**__** September 2009**_

_**Edward**_

"It'th not funny." Bella whined, glaring at me as I sat there chuckling at her, finding the situation hilarious to be honest.

It had been three days since she'd had her tongue pierced and while she'd been fine for the first two, this morning was the day her tongue decided it was going to swell. She had woken up, mortified that she could no longer say the letter 's' for the moment. Me, on the other hand, well, I found it funny as hell.

"Oh, it really is." I glanced up at her to see that she was sitting on the sofa, her legs tucked up underneath her, as she glared at the blank TV screen. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as her gaze moved to out the window.

"Thit." She launched herself off of the sofa and up the stairs as I heard my parents car doors close. They'd been out shopping in Port Angeles for the day, which I guess worked out well for Bella. She had been planning on spending the day with her friends, but had called Alice once she found out that she couldn't speak properly. The little pixie found it as funny as I did, but came up with an excuse for her.

Thank God its Saturday is all I can think.

I had to hand it to Bella though. She had gone through with the piercing and kept it in as promised. Being completely honest, I had expected her to flat out refuse to get it done or take it out as soon as we got home, claiming that she'd had it done and keeping it in wasn't part of the request. Which it wasn't so if she'd done that, I couldn't argue with her.

Yeah, she may whine that it hurt from time to time, but I had to commend her for having the guts to get it done in the first place. Maybe she was serious about her whole trying to make things right, thing. I know that getting her to put a hole in her tongue doesn't really qualify as such but hey, I'm allowed to have a little fun, right?

I glanced up as the door opened and my mother walked into the house, beaming at me.

"Hello, sweetheart." She walked over to me and pressed her lips to the top of my head. Always one for affection, my mother. "How's your day been?"

"Placid." She hummed in acknowledgment as she ran a hand through my hair.

"Where's Bella?" I could see her reflection in the window as she looked for our little lodger.

"She wasn't feeling well so she's gone to bed early." I lied easily. She had promised to make me cookies – well, actually when she said it, it came out as 'cookieth' but whatever, you know what I mean – tomorrow if I told my parents that. I didn't know how good a cook she was, but cookies are cookies. And who's going to turn them down?

"Alright, then." She pressed her lips to the top of my head again before making her way into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

It surprised me that Bella hadn't made some kind of comment on my mother's affectionate qualities, as I was sure she would have done two years ago. Without a doubt.

I'd caught her watching my mom from time to time, a contemplative yet sad look on her face and I couldn't help but wonder if everything between her and her own mother were copacetic. Maybe that was why she hadn't commented.

I hadn't brought it up, not wanting her to think that I was prying, because no matter how civil we might be towards each other now, that wasn't something either of us were comfortable with.

I closed the magazine I was reading and stood up, stretching out before making my way upstairs.

"Dinner's in half an hour." My mom called up to me as I made my way up.

"Alright." I wondered if she would tell me to mention it to Bella, and was mildly surprised when I heard nothing. It was as if she knew that Bella wouldn't be coming down for dinner, which she wouldn't, and didn't want to push it. That was one thing I really hated about my mom. She could read anyone like a children's book. It was as though no one had any secrets from her.

And it sucked to be honest.

Yeah, I love my mom and I'd be lost without her, but I'd like to have some things remain in _my_ knowledge only.

It's like, she knew when Kate and I had first slept together. Now _that_ was embarrassing. Anything more mortifying than having your mother know that you're no longer a virgin as soon as you walk into the kitchen in the morning? Anyone? Didn't think so.

Opening the door to my room, I found Bella curled up on the sofa, which she had flattened out again. She was on her side, her back facing the door as she lay there. I couldn't help but feel a little bad.

"Are you okay?" I asked, closing the door behind me and sitting in the centre of my bed.

She jumped slightly, clearly not having noticed my presence before I spoke, turning over to look at me. "Yeah." She sighed. "I jutht hate not being able to thpeak properly that'th all." She grimaced at how the sentence came out and I chuckled slightly. She glared at me and I held up my hands.

"You're not the only one who goes through it." I told her and she sighed again, nodding.

"Did you?" She looked at me and I shook my head. The place I went to had some kind of weird technique that causes minimal to no swelling. It was pretty cool actually. "Thee? That'th not fair. Thtop laughing at me."

"I'm sorry." I told her honestly. It wasn't my fault she sounded so damn funny.

"I gueth I detherve it." She scowled at me as a burst of laughter I couldn't hold back broke through. I really couldn't help it. She sounded so fucking funny. She rolled her eyes and looked out the window as I lay back on my bed.

"Maybe you just talk without using the letter 's'," I suggested and she laughed dryly.

"And how do I do that?" She asked sarcastically and I propped myself up on my elbows, raising an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I get that I jutht did it, but it'th to hard to do all the time."

"Edward!" I heard my mom calling me from downstairs and I looked at Bella.

"I'm guessing you don't want dinner?" I looked at her questioningly and she shook her head. "I told my parents you weren't feeling well, but my guess is that that little lie will only work until tomorrow lunchtime, afternoon if you're lucky before my dad goes all doctor and wants to look you over."

"I'll work thomething out." She waved at me to go downstairs before pulling her pyjama's out of her bag and walking towards me to get changed in the guest bathroom.

"Just use mine." I told her pointing towards my en suite. "It's easier than going downstairs, you're less likely to get caught and it's fine as long as you don't leave any girly shit in there."

"Thank you." She smiled at me before turning around and making her way back across the bedroom.

I turned around and walked down the stairs to where my mom and dad were setting up for dinner. There was a fourth place set out and my mom looked at me expectantly and I shook my head, indicating that there would be no Bella this evening.

"Maybe I should take a look at her." My dad looked at me concerned and I snorted internally. He was a day early in that request.

"Nah, she's kind of dozing off at the moment, she'll be okay." He looked at me sceptically and I stared straight back.

He sighed, letting it go before sitting down at the head of the table, while we sat down either side of him.

"So, what did you two get up to today?" My dad asked as he helped himself to a rather large helping of the vegetable lasagne that my mother had obviously prepared earlier on in the day and just put in the oven when she got home. She might have been an amazing cook, but not even she could make it that quickly. I didn't think, anyway.

"Nothing really." I shrugged, helping myself to some, just as my father had done. Though I wasn't as much of a greedy bastard as he was. To be fair though, he didn't get to spend the evenings at home very often, so when he did, he crammed himself with as much of my mom's cooking as he could, because it sure as hell beat hospital food. I swear, they even give the doctors shit to eat.

"Are you telling me, that two teenagers stayed inside and did nothing on a Saturday?" He looked at me, quite shocked and surprised at that fact.

"You make it sound like that's unusual." My mom laughed, tucking into her own food.

"I would have thought that you'd be out of the house like a shot, doing whatever teenagers do these days." He shrugged and I had to laugh at his wording.

"'These days'? Dad, you make it sound like you're ancient." He raised an eyebrow at me and I laughed again. "And besides, it's Forks. What is there to do?"

"Touché." The both of them chuckled before a comfortable silence fell over the room. While other houses might have a hustle and bustle at meal times, we were just content to be with each other. Having time with my Dad was a rare occurrence and even now, I knew that in about an hour or so, he would be leaving to start a seventy-two hour shift at the hospital.

Dinner and desert were practically silent before my Dad and I cleared away the plates and mats.

"Edward." My dad sounded nervous, which I didn't really know what to do with, considering he was confident about practically everything. "I need to discuss something with you."

"What?" I stood up straight as I closed the dishwasher and turned it on, turning to face him. He was leaned back against the counter, his brow pinched in the way it did whenever he was trying to word something correctly. "Is everything okay?" I couldn't help but feel a slight panic welling up in my chest and it was clear that he noticed.

"No, no, everything's fine." I relaxed slightly, biting down on my lip, drawing the piercings into my mouth. He scowled at me as the metal hit my teeth and I released it immediately, knowing he hated the thought of my teeth being damaged. "Edward . . . you mother and I have noticed . . . how close you and Bella are getting . . . and um . . ."_ Holy shit!_

"Dad!" I held up my hand stopping him from talking. His expression was one of mild irritation and relief. "We really don't need to have this conversation. You and mom mortified me with the sex talk three years ago, remember?"

"We just want to make sure that you're aware of the consequences of anything happening between you and Bella." He sighed, running a hand through his hair and I had a distinct feeling that mom had put him up to this.

"There's nothing going on between Bella and me." I stated firmly. "And there won't be. She's just here because of some project that we have to do. That's all."

"All right." He mumbled, looking at me in the same way as when he had found out about me and Kate. He and mom hadn't felt the need to reaffirm the sex talk when I was going out with her, which would have been more appropriate because we were actually _having_ sex, whereas Bella and I weren't and probably never would be.

Wait!

_Probably?!_

Where did _that_ come from?

No, Bella and I would _not_ be having sex. No way. Not a chance.

"Just . . . be safe." He mumbled quietly before making a swift exit from the room. It still amazed me that he could go about each day telling people about whatever problems they had, before he got transferred to Chicago, as a general surgeon and yet, he couldn't endure a minute advising his own son about sex. It was pretty fucking funny if you ask me.

I chuckled as I walked into my bedroom to see that Bella had drawn the curtains that rested either side of the balcony doors and was settled back reading a book.

"What'th tho funny?" She asked, looking slightly pissed at herself for still not being able to speak properly, even though about an hour had passed.

"I think . . ." I sat down in the centre of my bed as I spoke. "My Dad just tried to have the sex talk with me."

"I thought you'd already had thex." She raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Oh, I have." I answered, not ashamed at that fact, as I blinked as I saw something that looked a little like disappointment flash across her face. Must have imagined it. "But the funny thing is, they knew that about me and Kate and yet they say nothing."

"Tho what brought it on this time?" She asked, setting the book down and turning to face me.

"I think . . . maybe they think that you and I are together." I shrugged and her eyes widened slightly.

"They think what?" Her voice was slightly alarmed, but not as much as I'd have thought. I shrugged again and she shook her head. "Why would they think that?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, laying back on my bed. "I'm not really interested in what goes on in my parents minds thank you very much." I told her and she chuckled slightly.

"You know, it wouldn't thurprithe me, if it wath my dad that had thuggethted thomething to your Dad." She giggled and I sat up raising an eyebrow at her. "What? You know what I mean."

"Could be. But I don't know. He kind of tried to give the talk, I reminded him that they'd already embarrassed me and the two of them, trying to give me the talk three years ago before telling me to 'be safe' and walking swiftly out of the room."

"Huh. That thoundth a lot like the dithcu- talk," I could help but laugh at her replacement of words. Personally, I probably would have done the same thing. "I had with Charlie. He tried to give me the thex talk but I told him Renee had already gotten there when I wath fifteen."

"Dads." I sighed, resting my head on my hands behind me. "Always get there too late."

"I think they plan it that way." She added thoughtfully. "You know, they know that if they wait till a thertain age, the mother will have gotten to the child about thex firtht so they can at leatht thay they attempted it."

"That's a pretty good theory, actually." I had to agree it was. Certainly sounded like my dad.

As I sat there, contemplating Bella's theory and placing it to my dad, my phone started ringing. I knew it was James by the ringtone playing out into the room and I couldn't help but wonder why he was calling. Normally, he would be out right about now, considering it was around midnight on a Saturday night in Illinois right now.

"Hello." I called into the phone, greeted by a round of laughter, proving that James was in fact out and just rubbing it in my face like the bitch he was.

"Dude, think fourteenth of October to the sixth of November and what do you get?" He asked and I couldn't help but wonder how fucked he was already.

"Um, three weeks and three days of shit weather?" I asked, making a face at the phone, even though he couldn't see it.

"What the fuck?" I could practically see James's face scrunching up in confusion. "What are you on about, dude?" Yeah, he was definitely pissed. That was the only time he ever called me 'dude'.

"What are _you_ on about?" I fired back quickly. "And where the fuck are you?"

"Katie's house." He replied, a laugh coming from next to him as I heard Victoria call 'hi' to me from wherever she was. "Vicki says hi."

"Tell her I say hi back." I chuckled, lying back on my bed again, shaking my head. "So what are you on about, you pathetic alcoholic."

"Hey! I am not an alcoholic." He stated firmly and I could practically see him standing there, swaying as he stared indignantly at the phone.

"No, you're a drunk." I laughed into the phone. "Alcoholics go to meetings."

"You see?" I couldn't help but laugh at the tone of his voice. He _had_ to be completely off his head.

"All right, what was it you wanted to tell me?" I rolled my eyes as he stopped, clearly confused at my question. James was easy to confuse as it was, but throw alcohol into the mix and you've got yourself a show. "Because we both know there was something."

"Oh yeah!" He bellowed down the phone, causing me to move my head away to save my eardrum. "So, have you guessed the dates yet?"

"I'm surprised you remember that far back in the conversation." I chuckled, knowing that I was getting him. Drunk James was just too easy to wind up.

"Shut the fuck up, man." He whined and I laughed, knowing that I'd got him. "I'm being serious."

"I know. I know." I sighed, rolling my eyes again, trying to put the dates he'd mentioned to something in my head. I had a feeling I _should_ know about it, but for some reason, whatever it was, was eluding me. "Can't think."

"Well, put it this way . . . I'll finally be able to see what the Space Needle looks like in real life." I could practically see the smug smile on his face as I sat straight up on my bed.

"Oh fucking Hell! How the hell did I forget about that?!" My little outburst had caught Bella's attention and to be completely honest, I had forgotten she was in the room. Oh well.

"The Seattle trip." He laughed, and I knew that I had the stupidest fucking grin on my face. "Don't tell me you forgot all about us coming to see you?" He had mock hurt in his voice so I knew that he was being an ass, but I couldn't really bring myself to care.

"Honestly, I did, yeah." I nodded, laughing as I lay back on my bed. "When is it, again?" I felt my brow furrowing as I thought about when he had said the trip was, trying to match it up with what I remembered from previous years.

The trip to Seattle was something that occurred every year at my school in Chicago. Only Seniors were permitted to go and most just saw it as a way of getting out of school for a little over three weeks. I don't know if there was some sort of educational purpose to the trip and this year I didn't really care. Apart from the fact I wasn't included in the trip, I had my best friends coming closer than I'd thought they'd be before we left high school, so the pondering on that part was pushed to the back of my mind.

"Fourteenth of October, man. Whoops. Sorry." I laughed out loud at the imagery his little commentary was conjuring up here. It was blatantly obvious that he'd either just spilled his drink all over someone or walked into someone and was now apologising for it. "We're going to try and convince ol' whatsername to let us come see you."

"Cool." I shook my head at the phone, wondering how I'd ever managed to understand this guy in person, let alone over the phone. He spoke nothing but nonsense. The way he spoke about one of the teachers made it sound like I should know who he is, but I knew from talking to Kate that they'd had several new ones this year, so I had no idea. "Anyways, you're fucked so I'm going to hang up now."

"Fair 'nuff." He slurred down the phone, accompanied by an 'oof' straight afterwards. "Talk to you later, man."

"See ya." I hung up the phone, laughing and shaking my head.

"What wath that about?" I looked over at Bella, having completely forgotten she was in the room with me.

"Just a friend from Chicago." I shrugged and I saw her eyes narrow out of the corner of my eye.

"Going to elaborate?" She challenged and I smirked to myself, shaking my head.

"Nope." I replied, placing my phone on the bedside table before grabbing my sweats and t-shirt and making my way into the bathroom.

I changed quickly before throwing my clothes into the hamper by the bathroom door and making my way over to the bed. I turned out the light, considering Bella was already curled up and had her eyes closed. I doubted she was asleep, because not even James could conk out _that_ quickly, unless he'd drunk a whole keg to himself. Which he'd tried on more than one occasion. I didn't stick around for the aftermath of such occasions.

I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, sighing gently as I thought of the fact that my friends were all out in Chicago and yet I was in Washington, going to bed at ten o'clock on a Saturday night. A couple of weeks ago, I would have been with them, getting fucked beyond all recognition and not really giving a shit. And now, here I was, lying in bed, with the girl who made my life a living hell for years laying a few feet away on a flattened sofa.

Oh, how life fucks us over sometimes.

* * *

Arriving at school on Monday, things were the same as they'd been since the project started. It was as if Bella arriving in my car was the most amazing thing to happen to this place in the last hundred years or so. But then again, considering how we had been before I'd disappeared – because to them, that's what had happened – it very well could have been.

Sitting down at my desk in History, I dropped my bag on the floor beside me and rested my head on my arms, firm in the belief that it was too fucking early to be dealing with Nazis and whatever other shit went on in this class.

"Um, Edward?" I looked up to see Brittany standing there with a small smile on her face. She looked apologetic and I knew that it was because she had interrupted my internal 'hating History' rant – as she had dubbed it. Apparently, I had the same scowl on my face every morning that disappeared right after the bell went for second period. She had asked whether it was because I hated the subject that much, or because I had to sit next to Tanya.

I had replied with a firm 'both'.

Tanya, it seemed, had not given up in her whorish endeavours. Not that I had ever expected her to.

"Hi, Eddie." She crooned, sitting down slowly in her chair, probably to try emphasising whatever she thought she had on that particularly unappealing body of hers. Sure, she was pretty, but slathered in make-up? Nuh-uh. And just knowing how much of a whore she was put her _way_ down there on the attractive scale. Didn't stop her trying, though.

"What can I do for you, Brittany?" I asked, looking up at her and completely ignoring Tanya.

"I just wanted to let you know that even though my parents are being anal about all of this, I'm alright to start whenever you are." I nodded, knowing that she was talking about the tutoring I had promised her. It was clear that she didn't want to say anything incriminating in front of Tanya, who would no doubt spread it around the entire school in less than an hour. Bella had, surprisingly, kept her word and kept the knowledge to herself, not even letting Alice in on the secret. I honestly didn't expect her to keep her mouth shut.

"Well, I'm free anytime. You free at lunch?" She nodded. "Well, meet me where I was sat the other day and we can work something out."

"Thank you." She whispered quietly and I nodded, giving her a small smile as she made her way to her seat a few rows behind me.

"Never thought you'd be one for banging the loser." I heard Tanya snicker next to me, followed by the incessant giggling of her two little cronies.

"Only a loser in your eyes." I shot back, grabbing my notepad from my bag, along with a pen.

"And everyone else." She replied, her tone turning snarky and mean. I guess she didn't like the fact that I was sticking up for Brittany rather than laughing alongside her.

"Well, better a loser . . . than a whore." I smirked at her, knowing I'd hit a button when her jaw dropped and she huffed like an indignant toddler.

"You can't say stuff like that to me." She blinked at me, her overly made-up eyes widening as I smirked triumphantly at her.

"Well, obviously . . . I can." I turned to face the front as the teacher walked in, cutting off any chance of a comeback that Tanya may or may not have had. Knowing her limited intellect, it wouldn't have been worth listening to anyway. Yeah, I know all about not judging a book by its cover and all that shit, but hey, there is nothing going on in there.

School passed in a blur of the daily monotony that permeated the dank and dreary walls of the institution. I wanted to find some inspiration in this dismal little town, but it was evading me. All I could think of was how much I wanted to get out.

Having lived in Chicago for the last two years, I had gotten used to weather other than constant precipitation. I had gotten used to a blue sky and sunshine. Here gaining those two things was like winning the lottery. Something that rarely happens.

The answer to the question of why my parents wanted to move back here always evaded me completely. Maybe it was because this was where they had chosen to settle down after college. Maybe it was because it was where they had had me.

I don't know.

Walking out of school, I couldn't help but be thankful the day was over. Sure I had four more of them to endure, but for some reason, Monday was always the worst day.

I wondered if it was the same the world over.

Bella was going out with Alice straight after school, so that left me with some time to myself. Mom was with a client until God knows when and Dad wasn't back from the hospital until tomorrow morning when I'd be at school. Even though he loved his job, I knew he hated the hours. Being honest, I hated them too. I hardly ever got to see him anymore and being honest, I missed my dad. Yeah, his time at home might have been sporadic at best, but at least he was around most of the time. Nowadays, I felt like the hospital got more of his time than mom and I did at home.

Seeing as Coach Clapp was off sick with some flu bug or something, gym had been cancelled, so I had spent the last period in the library, going through the stuff I would be helping Brittany out with when she could get a definite time from her parents. I didn't see why they were being so anal about this. They were the ones that insisted she pick her grades up and yet they were downplaying her need for a tutor. At least my parents knew what they wanted for me.

As I walked around the gym on the way to the parking lot, I wasn't expecting the large tanned arm that pinned me to the side of the building. I knew that it was Jacob Black instantly, but that didn't take away the fact that the blow had hurt like a motherfucker.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He smirked at me, his arm across my chest, pinning me to the wall. What the fuck? Did he think he was in some kind of bad action flick or something? Next thing I know, he'll be sauntering away, doing his best Arnie impersonation. '_I'll be back_', yeah fucking right.

"What the hell do you want?" I glared at him, not even bothering to fight back because what Jacob obviously didn't realise was that the bell to signal the end of class had just rung, which meant that this whole place was going to be filled with students and teachers in a matter of moments.

"Stay away from Bella." He growled and I chuckled lightly.

"Apart from the fact that we have to do a project together, meaning that we are required to spend time together, didn't she break up with you?" I raised an eyebrow at him as his expression darkened. "Like, months ago?"

"That won't be lasting." It sounded as though he was telling that to himself, rather than to me.

"Contrary to _your_ opinion, I think that if she was going to take you back, she would have done by now." I returned the smirk he had given me earlier, confusing him as to how I could be so confident when he was obviously the one with the upper hand.

"Black!" We both turned to see Principal Greene standing there, staring at Jacob with a murderous look in his eye. And _this_ was why I hadn't fought back, because if I had, one) I would have got in trouble, just like Jacob was about to and two) I would have had to explain it all to my parents, which would not be a fun idea. "My office. Now!" Jacob turned to glare at me as I smirked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Now, Jacob!"

"What about him?" Jacob released me and nodded towards me as Principal Greene looked between us.

"Well, from where I'm standing, it seemed pretty straightforward. Had I seen Mr. Cullen lash out then he would be accompanying the both of us to my office, but as I did not, to me, he has done nothing wrong." He nodded behind him and turned around, taking a few steps towards his office. I know it was childish but I couldn't help but give Jacob the superior 'you're in trouble' look you always used to give as kids.

I could have sworn I heard him growl as he stormed off after Principal Greene.

Shaking my head, I made my way towards the parking lot, which was now practically empty. How long had that little confrontation taken? Longer than I'd thought, obviously.

I made my way over to my car, which had a very stressed looking Bella standing next to it.

"What happened to you?" She asked, her eyes roaming over me as I approached. Was it noticeable that I'd just had a run in with her ex?

"Your dog got loose." I stated, climbing into the car, waiting for her to do the same.

"What?" She looked at me, her expression confused as she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Jacob." Her expression quickly shifted from confused to pissed. I hated how females had the ability to do that. My mom was the same. She could go from loving and compassionate to cold and mean in less than a heartbeat. And it was scary. But to be fair, I think that might have something to do with the fact that she was my mom. I implore you to name one man that is not afraid of his mother on some level.

Name one.

"What the hell did he do now?" She practically growled, glaring out of the window as I drove out of the parking lot. It didn't take much to note that she was glaring at Jacob's truck, which was incidentally one of the only cars left in the lot.

"He told me to stay away from you." I shrugged and she sighed, rolling her eyes and rubbing her fingers across her forehead. "And he basically told me that you two will be getting back together."

"What the fuck?!" She turned and stared at me. I cast her a curious look and she closed her eyes, inhaling through her nose slowly before releasing it through her mouth. "What did he say?" Oh yeah, she found the letter 's' in her vocabulary again over the rest of the weekend. Makes it easier to understand her, that's for sure.

"Well, he told me to stay away from you." She nodded, obviously urging me to carry on. "And I pointed out that the two of you had been broken up for months." She raised her eyebrow at me, obviously wondering how I knew that much. "The town has three thousand people. Seriously, I'm surprised it didn't make front page of the newspaper." She chuckled, shaking her head as she looked back out the window. "And he told me that that wouldn't be lasting for long."

"I'm going to fucking kill him." She muttered, her fingers tightening to a fist in her lap. As long as you don't mark the upholstery. Or you'll be paying for it.

Something tells me, we'll be having a showdown soon.

Call me twisted, but I can't fucking wait.

_**Okay, so it's not too exciting, but remember, I'm still laying out the groundwork for the characters and the story, so there will be more drama coming soon.**_

**_I know some of you might think that Edward is being too accepting of Bella at the moment, but there's more to come on that front, so bear with me on this one. I know where I'm going with it._**

**_We might even find out part of the reason for Bella's cruelty in the next chapter or so. Maybe. Depends on my mood and where the story takes me I guess._**

_**Jailward's up next.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Nope, as much as I'd like to, I **_**still**_** don't own Twilight.**

_**13**__**th**__** September 2009**_

_**Bella**_

Sitting on the flattened sofa in Edward's bedroom, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on with me lately.

Some major changes were happening here, and I had no idea what they were.

I turned my attention from the window to where Edward was laying, asleep on his bed. He didn't have a shirt on – which I appreciated – and I could see all of the tattoo on his back. It must have taken months to complete.

I turned to look back out the window, biting down on my lip, trying to think of why Edward had become the main target of the group.

It wasn't as though he had ever done anything wrong to us. Like he had said before, we hadn't spoken more than a sentence to each other all throughout our school lives. So what made us notice him the day we did? I wasn't too sure.

My phone buzzing in my bag on the floor caught my attention and I quickly grabbed it before whatever ring tone started playing and woke Edward up. Standing up quickly and making my way around the bed, I pressed the answer button, holding the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered quietly, closing the door behind me.

"_Happy Birthday, Bells!"_ Of course, it was Alice.

"Hey, Alice." I sighed, leaning on the wall and glancing around to make sure that Edward's parents hadn't been woken up by my movement. He had told me that they were light sleepers, constantly aware of his movements when he was younger. Apparently, that hadn't worn off as he'd gotten older. I didn't want to risk waking them.

"_Come on, Bella!_" She whined down the phoned and I rolled my eyes. I swear _she_ got more excited about my birthday than I did. I hated my birthday. "_You're eighteen today."_

"Don't remind me." I mumbled and she sighed into the phone, exaggerating the action, of course, but that's par for the course of Alice. "What can I do for you?"

"_We're meeting before school so I can give you your present." _Are we now? Apparently, we were.

"Alice." I moaned, resting my head against the wall, closing my eyes and wanting to sleep through this day. Unfortunately, though, I had school and couldn't do that. "I don't want anything."

"_Tough shit." _Well, that told me, didn't it? "_Half an hour, in the diner."_

"Alice, it's ridiculously early and you're forgetting, Edward's the driver here and I don't want to wake him up before his alarm goes off. You think _I'm _grumpy when woken up before I have to be. I've got nothing on him." I was telling the truth here. The day before yesterday, Carlisle had woken Edward up a mere five minutes before his alarm went off and he was a grump until we got into school. His reasoning was that he could have had five minutes extra sleep and was mildly surprised when I agreed with him.

"_I don't care."_ She stated and I rolled my eyes again, letting a breath out through my nose.

"Look, Alice, I'll see you at school. I really don't want a big deal made out of today. Seriously." I told her and heard her sigh indignantly down the phone.

"_Fine, I'll see you at school."_ She huffed, sounding more upset than she really should have been considering it was _my_ birthday, not hers. "_But we're going out tonight."_

"Where?"I asked, peeking back into Edward's room, seeing that he was still asleep. Thank God I hadn't woke him up.

"_Jake said something about the beach at La Push, but I don't know if we're going there."_ That was Alice code for 'I was nice enough to listen to his suggestion, but we're not doing that.'

"Whatever." I shook my head, wondering how I put up with this girl. "I'll see you at school." I didn't give her time to argue with me as I hung up and turned my phone to silent, not wanting to know if I was bombarded with birthday calls or texts. The whole thing just bothered me. "Gah!" I turned around to see Edward standing at the doorway, leaning on the frame, a sleepy smirk on his face. "Don't do that!"

"Why?" He chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "Seems pretty amusing to me."

"Well, it's not." I knew that I was pouting and I didn't care. I moved past him and walked into the bedroom, grabbing my bag and making my way towards the guest bedroom where I usually got ready for school. Edward didn't say anything as I exited the room, which I was glad about. He knew it was my birthday today and I knew that he knew not to do or say anything about it. He had sat through an hour and a half rant by me about how birthdays are just another day in the year and don't mean anything. By the end of it, he was smirking to himself, so I was guessing that he found something amusing in my statements.

After I'd gotten ready, I made my way down to the kitchen, where I smelled coffee and eggs being made. Normally, Edward made breakfast, considering I wasn't much of a cook and had managed to burn toast in the toaster, yet when he'd put it in, on the same heat for the same length of time it came out perfect, slightly browned and crunchy, just how toast should be. So how the hell had I fucked it up?

One of the mysteries of being me, I guess.

It's been almost a week since I had my tongue pierced and the swelling I'd experienced initially had practically disappeared. It had been quite bad the next day and I couldn't speak properly. The letter 's' went completely out the window coming out as more of a 'th' sound instead. Now, _that_ was embarrassing. Edward of course found it _hilarious._

But now that that was basically gone, I could see why Edward liked playing with his so much. The sensation as it hit the roof of your mouth was weird. It was kind of neat, my little act of defiance, and the only ones who knew about it were Edward, Alice and Jasper.

We drove to school in near silence, the only sound coming from the quiet radio which was playing Vienna by Ultravox. Old School, but awesome.

Pulling up to the school, I saw Alice standing next to where Edward had taken to parking his car in the morning. She had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face and was practically buzzing with excitement.

"Uh-oh, Tinks had coffee." Edward smirked as he parked the car and I scowled at him. Even though he wasn't letting his guard down with any of us, he and Alice seemed to be getting along, which was nice to see. She knew that if she wanted any sort of friendship with Edward, it would be on his terms and that was something she had accepted. As had I.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" Alice squealed as I climbed out of the car. I rolled my eyes and didn't answer her. "Come on, Bella!" She whined, following me as I started to walk towards the school. "You're eighteen today! Officially an adult. It's big!"

"I don't care, Alice." I whined, stopping and turning to face her. I glanced back at where Edward was smirking at the altercation we were having and I felt my face harden as Brittany Wellows walked up to him, casual as anything. I don't know why I was getting so protective of him. He was a big boy and he could talk to anyone he wanted to.

So why did I want to storm over there and yank her away from him by her extensions?

"Bella?" I heard Alice's voice and snapped out of my torture Brittany daydream, shaking my head slightly, looking back at Alice. "So, after school, we're going to go to my house to do presents and then-"

"No." I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What do you mean 'no'?" She looked confused and I rolled my eyes, hating that I had to explain this to her every single frickin' year. Yeah, I love the girl, but she can be dense sometimes.

"I don't want presents. I don't want a party. I don't want a hundred people I don't know waltzing up to me, telling me happy birthday and that they like my ass." I raised an eyebrow at her and she bowed her head slightly. _That's it, remember last year._ "I just want to stay in and watch a movie. No fuss. No presents. Nothing. You know this Alice."

"But it's your eighteenth." She whined, holding out her arms in frustration.

"Yeah, Bells." Mike walked up beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I surmised that Jake must not be here, seeing as he wouldn't have even dared to come within a five foot radius of me if he had been. "You've got to have a party."

"Not if I don't want one." I shot back, shoving his arm off my shoulder. "You guys can have a party, but I won't be there. Besides," I smirked at them all. "I have dinner with my parents tonight."

They all moaned at me as I walked into school, glancing at where Edward had been standing as I turned. He wasn't there anymore and I came to the conclusion that he must have already gone inside. Either that or he'd snuck off for a smoke somewhere, seeing as he hadn't had one before we left this morning, as was his normal routine.

Walking into English, I tried to drown out Alice's moaning about me not having a party. She knew that I hated them and wouldn't give up until I relented. Unfortunately for her, my parents had insisted that I be home tonight – apparently, their insistence overrules the rules of the project Edward and I had to conduct for Bio – for a meal.

I wonder if Edward had been taking any notes for the project, because I certainly hadn't.

English passed in the normal monotony the lesson brought and I found it hard to stay awake. Surely, it should be illegal to have a teacher _that_ boring. Walking out of the classroom I spotted Jake, glaring at him as he grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes, continuing to my next class as he fell into step beside me.

"Come on, Bells." He moaned quietly. "Don't tell me you're still pissed at me."

"Yes, Jacob, I am." I muttered, stopping at my locker, switching my books over quickly. "And it's going to take a while before I'm not anymore."

"Why?" I looked up at him to see that his expression was dark and angry. "Because of the geek?"

"Jake, you can't just go round attacking people when you feel like it." I hissed at him, still pissed that he was not getting the message. "And you have no right to tell _anyone_ to stay away from me. Suppose that I wanted to spend time with Edward? Huh? Ever thought of that. At least he can hold a conversation that's about something other than football and cars." I slammed my locker closed and stormed towards my next class, hearing him shouting my name behind me. I shook my head, needing to calm down before _I_ hit something or someone. I was almost as pissed as I had been when I'd confronted him two days ago.

_*~* Flashback *~*_

_Scrambling out of Edward's car, I stormed my way over to where everyone was standing waiting for me. I heard Edward chuckle behind me as he exited the car, knowing where I was headed and what was about to ensue. Glancing behind me, I saw that he was now leaning against his car, having just lit a cigarette. It was clear that he didn't really care that there was a smoking ban on school property. No one had stopped him as of yet._

"_Hey Bells." Alice grinned, her brow furrowing as she took in my pissed demeanour. "Everything okay?"_

"_No." I stopped in front of Jacob, crossing my arms and glaring at him. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at?"_

"_What are you talking about, Bella?" He pushed himself off of where he was leaning on his truck, his expression confused._

"_You know exactly what I'm talking about." I hissed back at him, stepping towards him. "'Stay away from Bella'?" I raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to contradict me. "What gives you the right to tell me who I can and cannot talk to?"_

"_I don't know what-"_

"_Yes, you fucking do!" I could hear the volume in my voice rising as I spoke, but I really didn't give a shit. "Don't even bother trying to fucking deny it, Jacob." He instantly knew that I was pissed, considering I only used his full name when he'd severely fucked me off. "You don't seem to understand anything, do you? How about this. We. Are. Never. Getting. Back. Together. So stop trying to play the overprotective boyfriend, understand?"_

"_Let me guess, this is all about Cullen, isn't it?" Emmett sneered, glaring over at where Edward was finishing off his cigarette and looking eleven different versions of fucking hot doing it._

"_If you're talking about the fact that Jacob decided he was going to follow in your footsteps and physically attack him, yes." I glared at Emmett as his eyebrows almost disappeared into his hair._

"_You did what?" Rosalie sounded shocked. And I'm not sure that it was the proud kind of shocked either. I hoped not or that girl and I were going to have some serious issues soon._

"_Did he tell you that?" Jacob glared at me and then looked behind me, his eyes moving across the parking lot. Apparently, Edward had finished his cigarette and was making his way into the school._

"_All he told me was what you said." I stated truthfully. Edward hadn't said anything about a physical altercation between the two of them. "Someone else informed me of the physical side to it." That was also true, but I wasn't going to divulge who and have them put on Jacob's hit list. "Apparently, our split is temporary, huh Jake?" I glared at him, shaking my head, emphasising my point of it most definitely being permanent._

"_Who told you I hit him?"_

"_No one told me you _hit_ him." I shook my head, the intensity of my glare increasing as he continued to deny it. "However pinning him to the wall until Greene appeared isn't much better, is it?" I clicked my tongue, letting out a breath of air. "Two things Jacob: stay away from Edward and there is no chance in hell that we are getting back together, so take your whiny ass and get the fuck over it!"_

_Leaving them all standing there, gaping at my words, I stormed off into the school building, wanting to put as much distance between myself and that asshole as possible._

_*~* End Flashback *~*_

"Bella! Whoo, Bella!" I was snapped out of my thoughts by Rose standing there, a quizzical expression on her face, a perfectly manicured hand waving in front of my nose. "You alright, there?"

"Yeah." I cleared my throat, shaking my head slightly. "Just thinking, that's all."

"What about?" The tone of her voice told me that she already knew what had been running through my mind. "It wouldn't be that little old spat you had with Jakey-boy the other day, would it?"

"Ding ding ding! Two points to the blonde." I mocked enthusiasm as she laughed lightly. "I'm just trying to understand what goes through his head."

"Not much if you ask me." She muttered and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped. "Come on, Bella! Are you really that blind?"

"What do you mean?" What was she on about? There was something I was missing?

"He's jealous." _No shit, Sherlock. It's Jake. Of course he's fucking jealous._ "And not in the way he was when you were together, either. He's jealous of Edward."

"There's nothing between me and Edward." I shrugged, sighing gently. _Seriously, what is wrong with you?_ "And I don't think there ever will be."

"Never say never." She smirked at me and I immediately felt my defences go up. "Don't worry. I'm not planning anything for little Eddie. But . . . you never can tell."

"Rose . . ." I rolled my eyes at her, biting down on my lip gently. "I spent the better part of four years practically fucking him up. I'm surprised he's even _talking_ to me and acting like I exist, to be honest. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't."

"Well, maybe you need to do something to show him that you're sorry." She shrugged, her ice blue eyes flicking over to me. "You _are_ sorry, right?"

"Yeah." I sighed gently, nodding slowly. "I just don't know if he'll believe me."

"Make it so he has to." She smiled at me.

"Rosalie Hale, are you going soft on the former geek?" I let the smirk that was threatening to break free appear and she shrugged lightly, shaking her head, her blonde curls swaying over her shoulders.

"I don't know." She sighed, not looking at me, rather staring at something behind me. "I don't know why but I just can't seem to. . . fuck! I don't know how to say it."

"I know what you mean." I chuckled lightly, leaning against the wall. "You don't want to fuck with him anymore." She shook her head.

"And it's not just because he'll fight back." She clarified pointing at me with one perfectly manicured finger. "I guess . . . I guess we've messed with him enough." I nodded, unable to contain the smile. Could it be that Rosalie, the great Ice Queen was melting slightly? And for Edward Cullen, no less?

"Are you going to let him know that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You really think he'd listen to me?" She sounded doubtful and I shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it would help your case if Emmett wasn't there." She nodded slowly, lost in thought. "If you're serious about this, you've got to remember, that it's on his terms. You can't expect him to forgive you. Hell, Alice and Jasper have apologised and he's not going lightly on them either." Her eyes widened slightly. Of all of us, Alice and Jasper had been the most passive of the group. Neither of them had openly attacked Edward, but I guess his main problem was that neither of them had stood up for him either.

No one had _ever_ stood up for him.

"Are you okay?" Rose's voice brought me out of my musings. Her tone was soft and her expression confused and slightly worried.

"I was just thinking about how alone Edward must have felt." I sighed and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Think about it. He was the geek of the school. No one spoke to him unless they had to. He had no friends. He was humiliated day after day – by us, no less – and even when there were people there watching what was happening . . . no one did anything. They just . . . walked away." I closed my eyes, thinking back for a moment. "He must have been so lonely." She nodded slowly, her eyes downcast. "We really hurt him, Rose." She nodded slowly, seeming to understand the seriousness of what we'd done to him.

Walking into class, I sat down at my desk with Rose and Alice on either side of me. Resting my head on my hand I let out a breath, my mind running over the things that we had done to Edward over the years. I felt my mood falling as the images ran through my mind.

_Three years previous_

"_I'm bored." I whined, walking down the hallway with the others._

"_What do you want to do?" Alice asked, shrugging lightly as she came up beside me._

"_I don't know." I put all my books in my locker, not wanting to carry them around with me anymore, and not really caring what the teachers said._

"_I know." I looked at Emmett, seeing that he was grinning at something down the hallway. I turned to look at what he was watching, seeing Edward stopping at his locker. He looked down at me and I smirked up at him. He dropped his bag before making his way towards Edward, who paled in comparison to Emmett's size. "Heya, Eddie!"_

_Edward jumped, turning to face Emmett. I couldn't see Edward's face, but from the way he was standing, I knew that he was afraid of what Emmett was going to do. Emmett was the one who picked on Edward physically whereas the rest of us – other than Jacob – tended to play on his emotional and mental insecurities. What can I say? It was more fun and it saved me getting my hands dirty._

_Emmett clapped Edward on the shoulder, his grip tightening, making Edward wince slightly._

_Before any of us knew what was happening, Emmett had grabbed Edward's other shoulder and shoved him into his open locker. Edward tried to fight against Emmett's strength, but didn't possess the strength on his own to fight back._

_As Emmett swung the door closed, I heard the crunch of metal on flesh and bone, along with a cry of pain from Edward, echoing from inside the metal confines of the locker. I cringed at the sound, wondering what had been broken, because there was no denying something had._

_Emmett laughed as he closed the locker and Edward started to pound on it from the inside out. He sounded panicked and terrified and I couldn't help but think Emmett had taken it a little too far._

"_Emmett, let him out." I told him and he looked at me as if to say 'what the fuck?' "Listen to him, let him out."_

"_Going soft?" He chuckled, picking up his bag._

"_No." I shook my head, making my way over to where Edward was trapped. "I just know when enough is enough."_

_Jasper overtook me, running towards the locker and grabbing the padlock on the front. I heard him ask him what his combination was. He obviously gave it to him because a moment later, Jasper was plugging in the combination and opening the locker door._

_Normally, this would get a laugh from everyone, but seeing Edward climb out was nothing to find funny at all. He looked terrified and I felt my jaw drop as I saw the blood running down his face from a cut above his left eye. His glasses weren't on his face anymore, falling to the ground in a mangled heap, the lenses covered in blood. He cradled his right hand to his chest and I noticed that his fingers were covered in blood and bent at odd angles._

_His fingers were broken._

_That had been what caused the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh as Emmett had closed the locker. It made me feel sick to think about it._

"_You went too far, Emmett." Alice whispered, her eyes filling with tears as Edward slumped against the locker next to his, clutching his hand to his chest, his eyes staring vacantly in front of him._

_We had gone too far._

_End Flashback._

"Bella?" Alice's voice snapped me out of the past and I looked over at her. She gazed at me with worried eyes. She ran her finger over my cheek slowly, pulling it away to reveal tears that had been falling. "Where'd you go?"

"To when Emmett decided it would be funny to shove Edward in his locker." I whispered, looking between Alice and Rose. The both of them looked ashamed at the mention of that day and I knew it wasn't a place either of them wanted to go. It hadn't been enough to stop us though.

The rest of the day passed in the usual fashion, other than those in my group calling attention to my birthday. Having called attention to it in the cafeteria, I spent the rest of the day ignoring everyone in my group. They knew for a fact that I didn't want anyone to treat me any differently today than any other day. Did they listen?

Of course not.

Climbing into Edward's car at the end of the day, I let out the enormous breath that had been lingering beneath the surface for the last few hours.

"Not a good day?" Edward chuckled turning the key in the ignition.

"No." I shook my head, glaring at the school out of the window. "I know it's going to sound petty and stupid but I told them I didn't want any fuss today. They didn't listen to me. They never do and it really pisses me off." I glanced at him, wondering what he would be thinking. "It's stupid, but . . ."

"No it's not." He shook his head, his eyes never leaving the road in front of him. "You asked them to do something and they didn't. They ignored what you wanted."

_Just like we ignored what you wanted._

Sighing, I looked out the window as the greenness of Forks passed by the window. Edward knew that my parents wanted me home tonight, so he was dropping me off at home. I would have to make my own way into school tomorrow and that hit something in my chest, panging uncomfortably.

"Bella?" He called softly and I turned to look at him as I started to get out of the car. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks." I said softly, feeling myself blushing.

"I don't know if she told you, but your mom's invited us around for your birthday dinner." He told me, catching me off guard.

"She did what?" I asked, frowning as he chuckled lightly.

"I'll see you later, Bella." I closed the door to his car, watching as he drove away, the speed of the machine truly astounding. Who knew that something that could got hat fast would be so smooth to ride in.

I turned and made my way into the house, waiting for the barrage that was sure to come my way. Sure enough, I didn't make it three steps into the house before my mother descended.

"Happy Birthday, my baby!" She cried, wrapping her arms around me, pulling me to her.

"Thanks, Mom." I managed to wriggle free, seeing my father making his way over to me. He must have cut out of work early. "Hi, Dad."

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart." He wrapped his arm around me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He stepped back, placing a small box in my hand. I looked up at him and the two of them nodded at me indicating they wanted me to open it.

Pulling off the pale pink wrapping paper – no doubt wrapped by Renee, because I definitely couldn't see Charlie wrapping that – I was greeted with a jewellery box. Opening it, I felt all the air leave me in one gush.

It was a sapphire bracelet.

It was gorgeous.

It was a platinum band with six sapphire stones set into it. Each of the brilliant blue stones was ringed with what looked like diamonds. This was a bracelet I had seen when I was sixteen, but hadn't held out any hope of ever owning. It was a one of a kind bracelet.

I couldn't believe that they had gotten it for me.

"Thank you." I looked up at the two of them, completely overwhelmed at the fact that they had remembered. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I hugged them both, not wanting to let them fall in front of my parents. Who knew what kind of tizz that would send my mother into and Charlie would get uncomfortable.

Charlie took the bracelet out of the satin covered box, gently wrapping it around my wrist. He pressed his lips to my forehead.

"So apparently, the Cullens are coming over tonight?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them. They looked at each other, seeming a little embarrassed about having been caught.

"You don't mind do you, sweetheart?" Renee looked at me, her eyes wide and I knew that even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't say no to her when she was looking at me like that. Not fair, not fair!

"No, Mom." I shook my head, smiling at her. "It's fine. I just wish you'd let me know before Edward dropped me off, that's all."

"Sorry, honey." The two of them smiled at me sheepishly.

I ran upstairs, watching as the light bounced off the stones in my brand new bracelet. I had many extravagant things in my possession, but this meant more to me. Charlie and Renee would have had to have gone back to Seattle to purchase it soon after I mentioned it. The fact that they'd kept it as a gift for my eighteenth birthday and spent so much on it as well, meant a lot to me.

Normally, I hated gifts, but this one I would truly cherish.

The Cullens arrived around two hours later, thankfully after I'd showered and changed. Clipping my new bracelet back on my wrist, I made my way downstairs.

"Happy Birthday, Bella." Esme wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

As she stepped back I noticed Carlisle and Edward standing behind her, small smiles playing on their lips. Grinning at Carlisle, I glanced over at Edward, slightly surprised at his appearance.

He was wearing black slacks, smart shoes – which I hadn't _ever_ seen him wear, even when he was a geek – and a dark blue button down shirt. He had the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up like he had done the night we went over to their house for dinner. He would have looked wrong with the sleeves pulled down. But that wasn't the thing that caught my eye.

There was no steel.

He wasn't wearing any of the usual rings or bars that I had come to know him for. He looked sort of . . . I wasn't sure what the right word was for how he looked, but he looked different. I wasn't sure I liked it. He looked so much better with the rings through his lip and the bars through his eyebrow.

Everyone filed into the kitchen and I fell into step beside Edward as the parents chatted about nothing of consequence. Apparently, our dad's were going to go fishing at some point soon.

"What happened to your piercings?" I asked, turning to look at him as his expression turned into a scowl.

"My mom made me take them out." He grumbled and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Always do what mommy tells you?" I made sure that this was said in a teasing tone so that he didn't think it was a serious jibe at him. I wouldn't want him to think that of me anymore. I hoped I was moving up in his world, even if it was just a tiny bit.

"When she comes out with 'take those things out of your face or I'll take them out for you' I think you would too." He raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded, believing that I would, in fact, have taken any piercings out. "Kept my tongue one in, though." He grinned at me and I giggled. "How's yours doing?"

"It's okay." I nodded slightly. "It's still a little sore but that's normal, right?" He nodded as we entered the kitchen, which put a halt to our conversation.

Dinner was exactly what I wanted it to be. Quiet and intimate. I didn't want a huge party like the others wanted to throw for me. My mom had actually been able to throw a decent meal together for once. This was what surprised me the most.

When it came time for the Cullen's to go, I didn't know whether or not I was going to stay at home tonight or go back with them. I made up my mind quickly, packing a bag and making my way downstairs.

Edward's eyebrows shot up as I made my way down the stairs, the bag over my shoulder. Charlie looked slightly sad at the fact I wasn't staying here tonight. I made my way over to my parents, hugging the both of them. "Thank you, Daddy." I whispered and he wrapped his arms around my carefully.

"Happy Birthday, baby girl." He whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He stepped back from me, his eyes roaming over me slowly, studying me as I stood there. "All grown up."

"Not just yet." I made my way over to where the Cullens were standing.

"Come back to our house then, Bella?" Carlisle chuckled and I nodded, blushing slightly. "All right then." He opened the door and we all filed out. Charlie and Renee walked just outside the door, watching as we pulled away in Carlisle's Mercedes.

Edward and I sat in the back and I couldn't help but study the stones sitting in my bracelet. It only took us around five minutes to get back to the Cullens' but it seemed to take a lot longer in my mind.

Making that way up to Edward's room, we were both quiet. He opened the door and let me go in first. He was being extremely kind to me and I hoped it was because of more than the fact it was my birthday.

I placed my things over on the couch that had become my bed for the last week and a half. I looked over at Edward who was sitting on his bed, removing his shoes and socks. He grumbled, throwing the uncomfortable shoes across the room looking satisfied with the loud 'thunk' the both of them made. I heard Esme shouting up the stairs that he better not have scuffed the shoes she'd bought him.

He rolled his eyes, sitting back on his pillows and crossing his legs in front of him at the ankles. I looked at him, taking in his casual appearance as he sat there, my eyes catching something on his right foot.

"What's that?" I asked and he started, obviously having forgotten I was there in the room with him.

"What?" He looked at me, curiously before looking down at the foot I was looking at. "Oh, that." He shrugged lightly, not seeming bothered that I'd seen one of the tattoos he'd managed to keep hidden.

I moved over to the bed, aware that his eyes were on me. I wanted to see the whole thing. I knew that I was being nosy, but some part of me couldn't help myself.

Sitting down at the foot of his bed, I looked up at him to see an amused expression on his face. "Can I see?" He shrugged, sitting up and pulling up the leg of his pants.

It was a stream of flowered vines, starting on the top of his foot by his toes, wrapping around his ankle and ending halfway up his calf. The vines were a deep green, while the flowers were a wide variety of colours. The details of the flowers and vines were so intricate it was as though they had been drawn by someone that should have more recognition than a tattoo artist.

"It's amazing." I breathed, my fingers running over his foot, not quite touching but the intent there.

"I know." He agreed, his eyes flicking from the artwork to me.

The smile I was wearing faded as I registered the scars on the backs of his right fingers. All matching up. A single line across the back of his hand, indicating where the locker had slammed into his fingers.

I gently ran the backs of my fingers over the scars and his head jerked up towards mine.

"I . . ."

"Don't, Bella." His tone was clipped as he dropped his pant leg and sat back on his pillows. "Just . . . don't. Please."

"I didn't think things would ever go that far." I whispered, looking away from him, feeling the tears pricking at my eyes. Did I want him to see me cry? No. I didn't. "I never thought that anyone would ever get physically hurt." I looked at him, to see he was staring out of the window, a distant look on his face. "I'm so sorry."

"You weren't the one who shoved me in the locker." He replied slowly, solemnly. "I still can't go in small spaces." His voice was quiet as he spoke, his eyes still distant. "Elevators, bathroom stalls, anywhere enclosed. I can't do it." He looked at me, his eyes sad and distant. It was as though he wasn't really seeing me at all. "You might have seen how everything in my closet is near the front." Was it? The only time I'd seen into his closet was the first night I'd been here when he'd left it open. And then the only thing I'd taken notice of was the martial arts gear. "Well, it is. Because I can't go in there. When I do, I can feel my fingers breaking again. I can feel the lens of my glasses snapping out of the frame and digging into the skin above my eye." _Oh my God. It was his _glasses_ that made that scar._ I couldn't even say I remembered that, because I'd had no idea what had caused that cut. I'd figured that he'd hit his head on the small shelf each of the lockers has near the top. "I can remember hearing people outside laughing at me, at how Emmett had been able to shove little Geeky Cullen into his own locker." He sighed, shaking his head. "I hate having to use the lockers here. The ones in Chicago were small, not the full length ones they have here. It made it easier."

"I'm so sorry." I whispered again, shaking my head.

"Like I said . . ." He sighed, leaning back against his pillows, running his fingers over the scars that laced his opposite hand. "It wasn't you."

For once.

I didn't need to say the words, but I knew they were there.

How deep would we have to go before he stopped hurting? How far would he have to dig to forgive us?

If I hadn't known it before, I knew it now:

It was going to take a long time for Edward to forgive me, if he did at all.

I just hoped I was on the right path.

Only time will tell, I guess.

. . . . . .


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns. I have nothing to do with the original Twilight. This plot however, is mine. Edward . . . . is not :(**_

_**13**__**th**__** October 2009**_

_**Edward**_

"Bella, none of these clues make any sense."

"Yes, they do. You just have to think about it."

"Of course, why didn't I think of that?"

"Stop being sarcastic. Come on, ask me something else."

I rolled my eyes at the stupidity we had been reduced to. We had both being going mad for the last three hours, since the power had been knocked out by the storm that was currently raging around us. Neither of us could go anywhere considering the end of the driveway was flooded. One bad thing about living on the slight incline we did.

My dad was having to spend the night at the hospital, when he _should_ have been coming home. He didn't want to risk anything happening to him, which I was grateful for. I couldn't bear to think of anything happening to my dad just because we wanted him at home.

"Um . . . am I in the Government?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No." I rolled my eyes, expecting that answer already.

_This_ is what we had been reduced to. For the last half an hour we had been sitting in the living room with only candles and my old nightlight that my mom had managed to fish out of somewhere – honestly, I was surprised it still worked – for light. For the last half an hour we had been playing the incredible game of . . . wait for it . . . "Who Am I?"

Currently it was one all.

The first round I had been Lee Evans, some British comedian I had only heard of in passing and Bella had been Gethin Jones, a Welsh presenter on some show my mom liked to watch from Britain. I had gotten the answer to mine first and Bella had won this round.

"What are you kids up to?" My mom asked, walking into the room and perching herself on the arm of the sofa I was sat on.

"We are playing a riveting game of Who Am I?" I grinned up at her as she ran her fingers through my hair. "It's one all at the moment."

"Who won this one?" She asked, her eyes flicking between the two of us.

"I did." Bella raised her hand slightly and my mom laughed.

"Who were you?"

"Anatole Kuragin." She smirked, loving the fact that she'd guessed who she was before I could.

"Who?"

"See!" I gestured to my mom. "That is supposed to be the normal reaction when you hear that name." My mom looked down at me confused. "He's a character from 'War and Peace'."

"Oh." She nodded slowly, understanding my love of classic literature. Hell, I had read the book in its original Russian. Beat that, Bella! "And you were?"

"I don't know." I looked up at her, shrugging. "And I have a severe _lack of clues_ to help me."

"Well, what clues do you have?"

"Well," I thought about it for a moment. "I am male, which is good to know. I am also human, which is also a good thing to know. I am . . . under the age of fifty but over the age of twenty-five. I am slightly famous but not very. And I also know that I am _not_ an actor, a singer, a musician, a playwright, an author, a television presenter or news reader, an athlete of _any_ kind, a historical figure, a gardener," she raised her eyebrows at me at that one, "I'm grasping at straws here, leave me alone. I'm also not a director, a producer, a sound technician, a choreographer, a designer, a make-up artist, a hair-stylist, a costume designer or a politician." I looked back up at her. "I need help."

"You'll figure it out." She chuckled getting up and making her way back out of the room.

"Lot of help you were." I grumbled causing the two of them to laugh. "Do I _have _a profession?" She nodded, grinning evilly and biting her lip.

"Yes, you do."

"Wahay, I finally got a yes." I ran a hand through my hair, thinking about this for a moment longer.

"Do you give up?" She giggled, obviously loving this.

"No!" I shot back. I was not going to give this little girl the satisfaction of me giving up. Not going to happen. Had to go with a different route of questions. Wasn't going to let her get the best of me. Even if it was at some daft game. "Am I married?"

"Yes." She nodded once, still grinning.

"Okay . . . is my wife famous?"

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No."

"Alright then, gets rid of that notion." I mumbled, biting my lip. "Do I . . . have any children?"

"One." She held up a single finger, smirking at me still. "A son."

"Narrows it down when I don't even have a profession." I rolled my eyes as she let out another giggle. I let my eyes wander as I thought about the clues she had given me. Which were seriously lacking. I had to admit, the girl was good at this game. My eyes landed on the television magazine where someone – probably my mother – had circled an episode of _House_. Why she wanted to watch a medical drama when we had enough of that in our own home was beyond me. "Am I a doctor?"

"Yes!" Bella threw her hands up the air, laughing as she sat there, shaking her head at me. "Finally!"

I sat there weighing up the clues I now had. Right: I was male, between twenty-five and fifty, a semi-famous doctor, married with a son.

"Bella?" She looked up at me, her expression trying to be innocent. "Am I my dad?"

"Yay!" She squealed, giggling like a maniac, clapping her hands like I had seen Alice do when excited about something. I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh at her ridiculous behaviour.

"How do you work out that my dad is 'semi-famous' anyway?" Who the fuck knew what that meant?

"Well, if you mentioned him to some random person on the street, they probably wouldn't have a clue who he was, right?" I nodded, still confused as to where her warped little mind was taking this. "But if you mention him to another doctor, and practically any doctor in the country mind you, they'll have heard of him, right?"

"Most likely." I shrugged, shaking my head.

"God, who would have thought you were a genius?" She rolled her eyes at a logic only she understood. "He might not be famous to _everyone_ but in the medical field, he is therefore giving him the 'semi-famous' title."

"I can kind of see your logic." I ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head.

"Really?" She grinned at me.

"No." I shook my head and her smile turned into a playful scowl. So I didn't get how she thought. Is that a crime?

"Something tells me you got it, huh?" My mom re-entered the room, a smirk on her face. "Who were you?"

"Dad." She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "Figures, huh?" She nodded, rubbing my shoulder gently. "Any word from Dad?"

"He's staying at the hospital until the rain lets up." She sighed, sitting down on one of the seats.

I looked out of the window, watching the rain and still wondering what in the hell possessed my parents to move back here.

It had been just over six weeks since we moved back and things were just the same as they had been when I'd first arrived. The only difference was that it seemed I was actually getting to know Bella Swan for who she really was. Not just the bitchy Queen Bee everyone else saw at school.

When she climbed into my car at the end of the school day, it was as though she transformed into someone else completely. The heels would come off and she would slip on the flats that she had taken to hiding underneath the passenger seat before clamping her tongue bar in between her teeth and flicking on the radio.

Everyone else saw the bitchy side to her, though it seemed she was making less and less of an appearance lately. Over the last month or so, the only time I had really seen that side of Bella come out was when she was dealing with Jacob, Emmett or Tanya and her little minions aka Lauren and Jessica. I couldn't say that I was sad to see the bitch in her go. Because what she was replaced with was a hell of a lot better.

When she walked through the door at the end of the day, she didn't care what anyone thought. Her hair would go up in a bun or a ponytail, the tight outfits she wore to school would come off and the sweats and loose t-shirts she owned would be straight on. She didn't care about anyone thinking she was a bookworm – considering I had caught her reading 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Pride and Prejudice' god knows how many times. She was eager to help my mom in the kitchen, though she seemed to hang back when her own mother was around. Maybe there was something there that I wasn't really seeing before now. It was none of my business so I didn't really look into it.

When she walked through the door, the things that seemed important when in school seemed to melt away leaving me with the girl that loved eating raw cookie dough and playing endless rounds of 'Who Am I?'

Alice and Jasper had broken away from that group, along with Bella. The two of them were light and carefree, not seeming to really give a shit about the politics that happened within those walls. They had only been involved with that group because Bella and Alice had been friends for years and when Jasper moved from Texas a few years ago, he started dating Alice and they just stayed where they were.

That didn't seem to be right for the two of them anymore.

Normally, I think I would have been pissed that the three of them had invaded my little spot on the bench outside, but somewhere inside it meant a lot that they were at least trying to make up for what they'd done to me. It was going to take a hell of a lot more though.

Bella was really going above and beyond to prove herself. After the initial tongue piercing – which I was still amazed that she'd kept, by the way – she had had it out with Jacob and Emmett and the others, trying to find out why they were still behaving like children, and that was just comical. True, I didn't need Bella to fight my battles, but watching two huge assholes like Jacob and Emmett get their asses handed to them by a girl that probably doesn't even weigh one ten soaking wet was just hilarious.

The whole situation being back here was just weird and if I didn't know better I'd say something had been put into my food each day.

The thing that really made me feel like I was in the Twilight Zone was when Rosalie came up and apologised to me.

That was just weird.

_*~* Two weeks previous *~*_

"_Edward?" I turned as I walked out of class to see Rosalie standing there, biting her lip, looking slightly worried as she looked at me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"_

"_O-kay." I stopped, wondering what the hell was going on._

"_Alone, somewhere." I get it , she doesn't want to be seen with the former geek. "I know what you're thinking and it's not that." She shook her head, smiling at me apologetically. What the hell was going on here?_

_We made our way outside towards the benches that sat just outside the main entrance to the school. We had a few minutes before everyone started filing out of the door, considering I had finished the class assignment early and either Rose had a free last thing or was skipping. Either or really._

"_What's going on?" I stood there, crossing my arms over my chest as she took a deep breath._

"_I just wanted to say . . . I'm sorry." She looked up at me, her bright blue eyes glistening with tears. "I know that it doesn't make up for _anything_ but I . . . I had to let you know that I am. For everything. I . . . I wish I could say that it was just because we were stupid kids that didn't really know any better but . . . I can't."_

"_Then why?" I shook my head slightly, wanting to know what it was that I'd done to deserve those years of torment from people that were supposed to be my peers. People that were supposed to try and be there for me in some way. Instead I got exiled for a reason I didn't even know. "Why did you do it?"_

"_I guess . . . I guess it was something to do with . . . control, I guess." She sniffed, searching through her bag for a tissue. She found a small pack, pulling one out and wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I know you think that I'm the Ice Bitch, right? Well, I wasn't always. I used to be nice. I used to be friendly to people but after . . ."_

"_You don't have to tell me." I said quickly, instantly knowing that whatever it was she was going to say was deeply personal and painful for her. I was essentially a stranger and she didn't have to tell me anything. "I just want to know why me?"_

"_Because you didn't fight back." She whispered, looking up at me, the unshed tears that had been glistening in her eyes, spilling over and running down her cheeks._

"_Did you know that I had to have eight months of physio on my hand?" She sniffed, shaking her head quickly. "It's still not right. Did that figure into your little 'control' thing?"_

"_I'm sorry." She whispered, looking down at the ground. "I didn't want anyone to get physically hurt."_

"_So just mentally and emotionally was okay, then?"_

"_No, of course not!" She looked up at me, alarmed, shaking her head._

"_What did you think would happen?" I asked her, not wanting a proper answer. I think she realised that because nothing came out. "Did you really think you could do everything you did and I'd be fine? You fucked me up, completely. I spent five years being made to feel like I was nothing better than the shit on someone's shoe and you expected, what? That that wouldn't affect me at all? 'I'm sorry' isn't good enough. That's what I've said to Bella, Alice and Jasper and they've actually seen what they did was wrong. Now there are some people in your group that can fuck the hell off. Your boyfriend for one. Words don't mean anything, Rosalie. It's actions that count."_

_I turned away from her hoping that she'd taken what I'd said to heart. She had to realise that she couldn't treat people the way she did. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know what made her change like she'd implied she had._

_*~* Present Day *~*_

I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty over how I'd spoken to Rosalie. My mom had always told me to treat women with respect and I hadn't done that with Rosalie. I hadn't treated her how I had been brought up and I knew my mother would be ashamed of how I'd spoken to her.

But someone had to bring her back down to earth and that someone might as well be me. Hell, no one else was going to do it.

The next few days had been strange to say the least. Rosalie would smile at me whenever I saw her in the hallways at school, sometimes giving me a small wave and a small 'hi' to go with it. I could see that Emmett wasn't happy about her giving me any kind of attention at all, but who really cared about what that oaf wanted. She wanted to do something, he shouldn't try and stop her.

Oh, well, just another day in the life of a teenager, I guess. Nothing's ever simple.

_**14**__**th**__** October 2009**_

"Thank God it's Saturday." Bella moaned, stretching out over the kitchen island, her back curling like that of a cat after a long sleep. If there was one thing I'd learned about Bella Swan it was that she hated school. More than anything else in the world. Well, maybe not as much as she was hating Jacob at the moment but you get the idea.

I wondered if I would ever find out what happened between the two of them.

Something happened on her birthday, I knew that much. It seemed that since then they hadn't spoken to each other.

Not for his lack of trying though.

I was half expecting him to turn up at my house again.

"Alice called," she stated simply, settling onto one of the stools across from me. "Wanted to know if you wanted to meet up."

"Just me?" I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. "You want to?" She shrugged, looking like she did yet not wanting to say it. "You don't have to have permission from me, you know?"

"Well, considering I don't have my truck with me, I kinda need your help." She bit down on her lip, making me chuckle lightly.

"Edward," my mom called coming round the corner, smiling when she saw me. "Are you two heading out today?"

"Apparently so." I shrugged and she breathed a sigh. "Why?"

"Because, if you would be so kind, could you drop off some lunch for your father. You know how I hate when he lives off nothing but hospital food." I nodded, knowing exactly which one was for my father. It was always in the dark blue Tupperware tub. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"We might as well head out now, then." I pushed myself away from the island, having finished my breakfast.

Ten minutes later the two of us were in the car and heading down the driveway. I had been expecting an enormous block of water to keep us in and was mildly surprised – and relieved - when I saw that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I eased the Audi through it, not wanting to take any chances before turning out onto the main road.

It only took us a few minutes to get to the hospital and I parked up close to the entrance.

"You coming in or do you want to wait out here?" I asked, turning to face Bella as I grabbed the bag containing my father's lunch.

"Well, considering there's a creepy man looking over this way, I'm going to say I'm coming with you." She smiled at me and I glanced over her shoulder, indeed seeing the 'creepy man' she had mentioned.

"He'd better stay the fuck away from my car." I mumbled and Bella laughed as she got out of the car. Now that I was seeing him clearly, it was clear that he had in fact been eyeing up the car. As soon as Bella got out however, his eyes diverted, watching her as she met me around the front of the car. I switched sides with her so that I was blocking his view of her, not looking back at him.

Walking in, I mentioned the guy in the parking lot quickly and quietly to security who nodded at me and thanked me for the warning. Hopefully they'd do something about him before he did something or hurt someone.

Pretty fucking ridiculous, don't you think?

"Hey, Chelsea." I walked up to the main desk and the receptionist smiled at me, leaning on her hand. "Is my dad around?"

"He's in his office." She smiled at Bella who waved sheepishly back. "You want me to page him?"

"Nah, I've just got some lunch for him." She laughed, shaking her head. "You know what my mom's like."

"Look who's the golden child of the hospital." Bella giggled, following me to the stairwell. She didn't ask why we were taking the stairs as opposed to the elevator. I knew she remembered what I'd told her about the enclosed spaces.

"They love my dad, so by default they have to be nice to me." I shrugged and she shook her head.

"You know . . . I don't even understand how your parents can stand to look at me." Her voice was sad as we walked up the stories towards my dad's office. "If I were them, I would hate me and make sure that I never set foot in their house again. I don't understand why they don't."

"Because they don't know what happened." I said softly and she stopped behind me. I walked up a couple of steps before stopping and turning to face her.

"What do you mean they don't know?" She looked completely bewildered standing there. "Edward, what did you mean, they don't know?"

"They don't know." I shrugged, not really understanding why she was upset by this. I mean, you would have thought that she would be happy to know that my parents didn't know. But no, she's all confused and upset. "I never told them."

She walked up the few steps, stopping on the same one I was on before looking down at my hand. "But what about-" She brushed the backs of my fingers where the scars laced my skin. I jerked my hand away from her, shaking my head. "What did you tell them about that?"

"That I caught it in a door." It wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't exactly a lie either. I was just omitting the fact that it was because of a third party it happened to get slammed in a door. "They had no reason not to believe me. I'd never come home with anything like that before, so they didn't question it."

"You should have told them the truth." She sighed, a voice a mere whisper.

"And what . . . gotten the shit kicked out of me for being a grass?" I shook my head, chuckling slightly. "You can't deny it. If I'd told someone what had really happened, Emmett and Jacob would have killed me." She couldn't argue with me and she knew it.

"I just feel so bad." She whispered, drawing in a shaky breath. She looked up at me, her eyes watering slightly. "I want to help you."

"What?" Huh?

"You told me how you hate enclosed spaces." Of course she remembered that. "I want to help you get over that."

"Bella, I-"

"I know that I might not be the best person to do that, but . . . I want to at least try." She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I mean, it's not fair that you have to suffer for the rest of your life because of something we did."

"You didn't do that." I told her but she shook her head, not believing me. "You didn't."

"But it was me that caused the events leading up to it." She shot back and I shook my head. "If I hadn't said to Emmett that I was bored and . . ."

"Did you say to Emmett 'let's shove Edward in the locker'?" I held her gaze as she stood there. "Did you . . ." I stopped as someone walked through the door above us, walking past us. They gave us a confused look, eyeing Bella and myself as they passed. Great, who knew what was going through their mind? "Did you say to him 'I wonder what'll happen if you slam it closed on his fingers'? Did you?" She shook her head, not saying anything. "Exactly. All you said, by your own admission, just then was that you were bored. It was Emmett that came up with the idea of doing that to me. Not you."

"Why are you defending me?"

"Because even though, yes, you did a lot of fucked up shit to me, that particular incident wasn't your fault." I reasoned and she looked away from me. It was clear that she wasn't going to let this one go. She felt bad, I got it, but that wasn't going to change anything.

"I still want to help you, though." She sighed and I ran a hand through my hair, taking a deep breath. Her eyes were determined and I could see that she wasn't going to give up. "Even if it's just so that you can go into your closet at home. It'll still be something. I hate that you can't even go in there because you're afraid."

How emasculating was that?

Having someone point out that you're afraid of something so stupid.

What a fucked up situation.

We were silent again as someone else walked past us, giving us the same look as before.

"Can we just . . . not talk about this here?" I looked up and down, not wanting anyone else to take us by surprise. "Let's just give this to my father and meet the other two."

She nodded silently, following me to the floor that held my father's office. I walked down an extremely long hallway, stopping at a door that essentially looked like all the others in this place. I knocked on the door, waiting for an answer but not getting one. I knocked again, slightly louder, frowning at Bella when she raised an eyebrow.

Carefully, I gripped the door handle, knowing that because it was unlocked, my father was inside. Maybe he was engrossed in something as usual, not hearing the door. Looking around the office I saw that it was dark and chuckled. I looked over towards the leather couch he had against one wall to see him curled up, an arm flung over his eyes.

I walked over to him, settling the box on the ground and shaking him gently. "Dad. Dad." He grumbled something and Bella giggled quietly.

"Maybe we should just leave him." She suggested, her voice no more than a whisper.

"No." I shook my head, knowing my dad would be pissed if we did. Not with us, but with himself for falling asleep in the first place. "Dad, wake up." I shook him harder and he startled awake. He blinked up at me a couple of time before shaking his head. "You fell asleep."

"Oh, right." He sat up, running a hand down his face. "What time is it?"

"It is eleven twenty-two." I told him, glancing at my watch. "Which means that you probably haven't eaten in a while and are just in time to have some of the lunch mom made for you." I handed it to him, grinning as he chuckled. He ruffled my hair, shoving me to the side lightly before opening the box, practically salivating over what was inside. "We'll leave you to it."

"Hello Bella." My dad waved at her and she giggled, waving back. It was a pretty fucking funny sight. My dad the esteemed doctor, sitting on his couch devouring my mother's home cooked lunch. Yup, classy bugger, my dad.

"I think they want to be alone." I mock whispered to Bella and she nodded. "Bye dad. You are coming home tonight, right?" He nodded, giving me a thumbs up and I had to laugh. I held up a finger signalling Bella to wait for a moment while I discreetly took out my iPhone and snapped a picture. "Run."

We made our way out of the room quickly before heading back down the stairs. I couldn't stop laughing all the way down the stairs and I was sure that most of the hospital staff and patients thought that we belonged in the psychiatric ward rather than going out the main entrance.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I felt it vibrating, seeing I had a text message from my father. "Uh-oh, I think I'm in trouble."

"What does it say?" She asked and I showed her the message.

_Don't expect to survive the night._

_Dad_

We were both still laughing as we climbed into my Audi. "Where are Alice and Jasper meeting us?" I asked Bella as she calmed down slightly.

"Um, the diner next to the park." She let out a few more chuckles as I pulled out of the parking lot and sped the minute's drive to the diner. I parked outside next to Alice's Porsche and we made our way inside.

"Hey, guys." Alice practically bounced in her seat as we approached. "You two look amused. What have you been up to?"

I looked at Bella who glanced straight back and in that moment we decided to keep what had happened in my father's office to ourselves. Who else needed to know that the highly thought of Dr. Carlisle Cullen was nothing more than a man who turns into a sucker for his wife's home cooking?

"Nothing." I shrugged, taking off my jacket.

"That's mean." She whined and I stared her down, shaking my head. She was not getting any information from me and from the way Bella was watching her as well, she was clammed shut too.

We sat and talked for a couple of hours, ordering about three drinks before we actually focused on the menu. The girls had to go to the bathroom twice before the food had even arrived and I was reminded to always let Bella sit on the outside.

"You and Bella seem to be doing okay." Jasper looked at me, taking a gulp of his drink.

"Taking it day by day." I shrugged, playing with the bottle cap that was on the table.

"Still don't really trust her, do you?" I could sense that it wasn't really a question but an understanding.

"Would you?" I fired back and he shook his head.

"I don't know." He shrugged, looking out the window for a moment. "But what I do know is that Ali's over the moon that you haven't kicked the three of us to the curb yet. And I say 'yet' because she's convinced you're going to see that having any amount of faith in us is a waste of time and give up on us."

"Got one thing to say to that." His eyebrows raised at my comment. "Don't give me reason to give up on you."

"Fair point." His serious expression turned into a grin as he looked behind me. All I could think of was that the girls were on their way back and the slight conversation we'd just shared was over for now.

Before I knew it Bella had plopped back down into the seat next to me, giggling as if someone had just told her the funniest joke in the world or a thirty year old man had come in proclaiming that he still believed in Santa.

"Going to let us in on the joke?" Jasper asked, looking between the two of them.

They looked at each other for a split second before bursting into giggles again. Alice picked up her drinking, sucking on her straw before looking between the two of us. "You know those weird phone calls Tanya's been getting?" I shrugged, shaking my head, before remembering Bella mentioning something about Tanya receiving calls from unknown numbers for the past week or so. We both nodded and she giggled again. "Alright, well we know where they're coming from."

"Where?" Jasper asked, sounding a little too eager if you ask me.

"You know that little corridor bit before you get to the different doors for the male and female restrooms?" Bella looked between the two of us and we nodded. "It's written in huge writing on the wall. It looks like someone's tried to scrub it off, but it hasn't worked."

"And it's her real number?" I couldn't help but laugh. The two of them nodded, grinning widely. "Do you know who it was?"

"I recognise the writing but I can't remember where from?" Alice sounded frustrated at the thought and I had to laugh.

"Well, the skank is finally getting the attention she's always wanted." Jasper chuckled, taking another gulp of his drink.

"Yeah, but I don't think she wanted it from most of the guys that come in here." I laughed and he nodded.

The four of us were still laughing as our food was brought to us and every so often Bella and I would share a glance, remembering my dad stuffing my mom's cooking into his mouth and laugh. Alice and Jasper had no idea what we were laughing at but clearly remembered the writing on the wall.

Today was turning out to be a pretty amusing day.

"Hey, why don't we go and sit in the park?" Alice suggested as we walked out of the diner. "I mean, it's actually quite sunny. Might as well enjoy it."

I couldn't argue with that and the park was only a few metres away from the diner we were at.

The sun was actually quite warm as we walked towards the children's play area. Yeah, we were seventeen and eighteen year olds, but who really gave a fuck. Alice and Bella were small enough to fit onto their rides and Jasper and I were amused enough watching the two of them argue over who was going to go on the slide first.

If I didn't know better, I'd say they were stoned. Or at least pissed.

I had to say, it was funny as fuck watching the two of them try and swing higher than the other on the swing-set, especially considering they were the swings designed for toddlers and had those barriers and shit, which meant the girls had to stand up in them.

Or at least it was until something barrelled into me, knocking me to the ground.

At first I thought that it must have been Emmett or even Jacob, but if it had been I most likely would have been crushed on impact. Even though it had been a split second or so, I could tell that the person that had tackled me was of a similar height and build to me, weight in the same range. It also helped that I could see the crop of blonde hair I knew to belong to one asshat from Chicago.

He'd managed to wind his arm around my neck in a headlock and was now grinding his fist into my head. "Say it, Eddie! Come on, say it!"

Like fuck I was giving in.

I rammed my elbow into his ribs, winding him and grabbed the arm that had been looped around my neck, securing it over my shoulder, before executing a perfect Ippon seoi nage. At least he remembered to break his fall, landing on the ground with a thud.

"James, you asshole." I panted, laughing to myself as he grinned up at me. "How many times do I have to kick your ass?"

"Always once more." He laughed as I helped him up. "You forgot didn't you?"

"Honestly?" I nodded, not really feeling bad about it. If he'd been that fussed he would have called or at least texted me. "Yeah. How the fuck did you know where I was, anyway?"

"Friend Pin." He held up his phone, grinning at me, his blue eyes sparkling with the mischief that was always present.

"You fucking pinned me?" I rolled my eyes, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "You know you could have just called and said, 'meet me here' you fucktard."

"I don't know this fucking place, do I?" He shot back, rolling his eyes. "Besides, if I'd done that, it would have been a goddamn surprise, would it? Huh?"

"You are seriously fucked in the head." I stated matter of factly.

"I know." He nodded, grinning at me again. He laughed and I couldn't help but join in. He pulled me to him and we spent a moment or two in the obvious 'man-hug' telling each other we missed the other one without making it seem too pussy-like.

"Where are the others?" I asked, wondering where the rest of the gang was. Normally, there was no separating the lot of them.

"Back in Seattle." He sounded slightly glum. "Seeing as it was our first day here, teach only let one of us escape." I snorted at his use of the word escape. What that meant is he used all of his motherfucking charm and confused the poor bitch into letting him go. I knew his game plan.

"Edward?" I heard Alice's worried voice and it snapped me back to reality. "Edward, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Alice." I nodded to James for him to follow me back to where the others were standing. I hadn't realized we'd travelled so far away from them. "Guys, this is James, my best friend from Chicago." He gave them a small wave and a smirk. "James, this is Jasper, Alice and Bella."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I knew what was going through his mind. "Bella?" He mouthed, his mouth just so they couldn't see, yet I could.

"I know." I cut him off before he could make any actual noise. "Fuck the hell off." I turned to look at him. "Seriously."

"I'm just saying . . ." He held up his hands in an exaggerated shrug using the singsong voice that always got on my fucking nerves.

"Well, don't." I replied in the same tone.

"Are you sure-"

"Fuck off!" I mock glared at him. "Seriously. More to it than that."

"If you say so."

"I do!"

"Fine, then."

"Shut up."

"Is anyone else here lost?" I heard Bella ask, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched the interaction between James and myself.

"I've been lost since 'fuck the hell off'." Jasper admitted chuckling. I shrugged back, making James laugh.

"When do you think the others will be freed?" I asked James, wanting to know when I could see my old friends.

"Um, probably not until next week." He shrugged, shaking his head. "Teach wasn't that happy about letting me go, but I convinced her."

"Which one was it?"

"Jafar." I cringed, remembering that particular teacher. She was _weird_.

"'Jafar'?" Jasper sounded confused and the two of us laughed.

"One of our teachers in Chicago is Jeffers and she looked _exactly_ like Jafar from Aladdin." I explained and they all nodded in understanding.

"So, got anywhere good to go in this place?" James clapped his hands together, rubbing them in anticipation. All I could do was laugh and shake my head. "There's gotta be somewhere." He whined and I shook my head again. "Well, then, we'll have to _find_ somewhere, won't we?"

I laughed, shaking my head at his optimism and I realised how much I had actually missed him.

Damn, it was good to have him around.

Now all I had to do was wait for the others to show up because where one was, the others will surely follow.

And I couldn't wait.

. . . . . .

**Ippon seoi nage: One Arm Shoulder Throw.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns. I have nothing to do with the original Twilight. This plot however, is mine. Edward . . . . is not :(**_

_**I know it's been forever since I've updated on this story. Let the flogging commence. Again, I don't know when I'll get the chance to update again as I'm not on my computer at the moment. People fixing it are taking their sweet time no matter how much I hassle them. Not sure how the reception of this chapter will go but I like it. Let's just say, there's some self discovery in there.**_

_**I hope it was – even partially – worth the wait.**_

_**13**__**th**__** October 2009**_

_**Bella**_

For some reason, having Edward's friend James from Chicago here made me feel uneasy. I wasn't one hundred per cent sure why but there was a lingering feeling that he knew some of the things that we had done to Edward before he left.

And that didn't make me feel good at all.

Here we were, trying to make amends with Edward and his friend shows up out of nowhere. Yeah, I know it's bad to me to dislike the idea that he had friends in Chicago but there was also the fact that Edward had asked 'where are the others?' That made me a little uncomfortable. Would his girlfriend be here too?

Another little thing that I'd noticed, maybe the others hadn't or maybe they had, I don't know, was James's expression when Edward had said my name. It was a kind of 'what the fuck are you doing hanging around with that bitch?' expression and I hated it.

It confirmed what I had been suspicious of.

I couldn't blame Edward. Not really. I mean, I had been an absolute bitch to him before he left. I wondered how much he had told them about what we did to him. Did he tell them about the locker incident?

Thinking about how he still couldn't go into enclosed spaces made me sad and I was even more determined to help him now that I knew there were lasting effects. Hell, I knew that we shouldn't have done any of those things to him in the first place but it was too late to go back now, huh?

What they say is true. Hindsight is a bitch.

"Bells?" I turned to look at Alice, who was watching me carefully. "Are you okay?" She glanced at where Edward and James had flopped down on the grass and were now laughing and joking around. He seemed so carefree now that his friend was here. Would he ever be that way around me? I didn't ever expect him to be but maybe it was okay to hope. Right?

"Yeah," I nodded and she narrowed her eyes at me, clearly not believing me for a second. "I'm good. James showing up was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

"You weren't the only one taken by surprise." Jasper laughed, shaking his head.

I smiled slightly, remembering the look of shock on Edward's face as James had ploughed into him. I had looked over just in time to see James running at Edward full speed. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to yell out to him before he made contact. Not that it would have made any difference seeing as Edward flipped him over his shoulder with ease. That martial arts training had come in useful then. From the looks of things, James had joined Edward in his classes, considering he managed to get up again immediately afterwards. I was sure that throw must have hurt but James laughed it off.

"What are you three doing all the way over there?" We all looked over to see James facing us, grinning as though he'd been given a new toy to play with. "I ain't gonna bite ya!"

"Wouldn't hold him to that." Edward shouted over him and we all laughed, making our way over to the duo.

"Shut it, prick!" James elbowed him, making Edward laugh even harder. "I don't bite."

"Much." Edward muttered as we sat down but the slight gleam in his eye told me he was only joking.

"So . . ." James looked at the three of us as though deciding who to start with. "You're obviously Jasper," he nodded, grinning back at the new blonde, "you're Alice," she giggled and nodded quickly, seeming to bounce up and down where she was sitting. I shook my head, snickering at her enthusiasm. You would have thought I'd be used to it by now. "And you must be Bella." He looked at me, something else in his eye. He glanced at Edward, who gave him what I could only guess was a warning glare as if he was trying to urge him not to get into something. I wasn't going to ask. Purely because I didn't think I'd like the answer. "Just double checking. You know, the girls are going to hate it here and Seattle to be fair."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, curious.

"Because it's so damn humid here. It's like it's always about to rain or some shit." He grumbled, clearly not used to the weather of the Olympic Peninsula.

"That's because it is." I offered and he looked at me as if to ask 'are you serious?' I shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. "I can bet that by the time you get back to Seattle, it'll either have rained or _be_ raining."

"What'll you bet?" He grinned wickedly and I heard Edward let out a chuckle.

"What you got?" I challenged and he rubbed his hands together, clearly picking up the gauntlet.

"Hmm . . . I like this one, Eddie," he laughed and Edward shook his head.

"Don't let Vic hear you say that." He laughed, leaning back on his hands and stretching out his legs in front of him. It still amazed me how graceful he'd become since he left. Before he moved, he was one of the most uncoordinated people I knew. It was as though he couldn't walk in a straight line without tripping over something, whether there was anything there or not. He kind of reminded me of Bambi trying to walk on the ice. But now he was graceful, able to do whatever he wanted and look gorgeous doing it. He had turned from the stumbling fawn into a graceful mountain lion and I couldn't say I was complaining. "And don't call me Eddie, fucker."

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist." He held up his hands in defeat as Edward rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. "Well Bella, hmmm . . . how about . . . if you're right and it does rain before I leave . . . you can have my iPod."

"Wow." Edward muttered, a look of shock on his face. "Never did I ever think I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. You don't even let Vic _borrow_ your iPod."

"That's 'cause she breaks shit." He shrugged before turning back to me. "So, we got a deal?"

"Depends on what I have to give you if you win." I raised an eyebrow and he smirked.

"Well, you have to give me yours, of course." He shrugged as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Of course." I rolled my eyes and everyone laughed. I glanced at Edward, who seemed to be really relaxed and at ease with the idea of us from Forks socialising with his best friend from Chicago. I guess he realised that James would be able to make the decision for himself about whether we were trustworthy or not. I hoped he thought we were. "Alright." I stuck my hand out and he grasped it. "Deal."

"Dude, you're _so_ gonna lose." Edward snickered and the other three nodded. "I'd say goodbye to your iPod, man. Better yet, might as well hand it over now."

"Why do you say that?" He looked at Edward as though he was betrayed at the thought Edward could side with me over him. He clearly hadn't researched the weather in Washington before coming out here.

"Because you see those?" Edward pointed upwards before standing up. We all looked up towards the sky as James nodded. "Those are rain clouds. And it looks like they're gonna let loose sometime pretty soon. Come on, let's go to mine. My mom'll kill me if I tell her you were here and didn't bring you to see her."

"Yeah, Esme cooking!" He jumped up and ran towards the diner parking lot, looking like a little kid on a sugar high. "Come on, then!"

"Is he always like this?" I asked, falling into step next to Edward and he laughed, nodding. "Wow."

"You're used to Alice, how's this shocking?" He asked and I couldn't fault his logic. The pixie was incredibly hyper.

"I heard that!" She hollered from behind us and I had to laugh when Edward replied with 'you were supposed to'. She didn't have a response for that.

"You wanna ride with us or follow?" Edward asked, seeing James leaning up against what I guess was a rental.

"I'll follow." He shrugged, unlocking the drivers' side door and climbing halfway in. "Means you don't have to bring me back here later."

"You two coming?" He asked Alice and Jasper who had been quiet since we got back to the parking lot. Alice beamed at the invitation and nodded quickly, making all of us laugh. They made their way to Alice's bright yellow Porsche and slid in, waiting for Edward and I to lead the way. "How come they always use Alice's car?" He asked, sounding a little confused.

"Because Jasper's doesn't run." I laughed and he raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting an elaboration. "It's this 1967 Ford Mustang that he got for like five hundred dollars because it was literally falling apart. He's been fixing it up for about eighteen months now. It looks great. He's got all the bodywork and interior and stuff done but it just doesn't run."

"Engine overhaul?" He asked and I shrugged, not knowing what that meant. "It basically needs a new engine, yes?" I nodded and he laughed, shaking his head.

"So . . . how did you and James meet?" I asked, glancing at him quickly before looking back out the window.

"He was the first friend I made in Chicago." He chuckled, shaking his head as he made the turn off onto the enormous driveway that lead up to his house. "Everyone else had been watching me and you could tell they were wondering whether or not they should approach the new kid but James didn't give a fuck. He just walked up to me in second period and introduced himself without question. He cornered me just before lunch and practically dragged me to his table which, incidentally was filled with people I'd met briefly in all my other classes. They've been my best friends ever since." I couldn't help but smile at the short story. It was nice that he'd been able to make friends so quickly there, especially when he'd been the social outcast here in Forks. "I know what you're thinking. The fact that I made friends my first day in Chicago yet I hadn't made any here in Forks." I nodded silently, finding it a little eerie that he seemed to be able to read my mind like that. Or maybe I was just obvious. "Well, part of it might have been the fact that I'd replaced my glasses with contact lenses and my mom had given me this scrub thing to help clear up my skin."

"Wow," I chuckled, shaking my head before looking at him. He had a small smile on his face so I guessed he knew I wasn't laughing _at_ him. "You actually used a facial scrub."

"Yup." He nodded, turning off the engine and I realised we were sat outside his house. "It hurt like a bitch the first few uses but it cleared up my skin pretty quickly. It was definitely worth it."

"I can't imagine that's the only reason they became your friends." I sighed, looking away from him.

"Maybe it was the fact that I could help them with their homework when they needed it." He chuckled, climbing out of the car.

"Something tells me it's more than that." I said softly and he gave me a strange look. One I couldn't but my finger on. "You're a really great guy, Edward." It was a lame compliment but he'd get what I was trying to say, right? I hoped so.

"Then how come no one here could see that?" He asked softly, probably not intending for me to hear it. Unfortunately, I did and it made me sad to think he didn't really have any good memories of being here in Forks before he moved. I hoped he had a couple since he got back. "Come on, James'll be itching to see my mom. He loves her."

"Who doesn't love Esme?" I laughed and he shrugged, walking up to the door where James, Alice and Jasper were waiting for us. James was standing there doing a very good imitation of Alice as he stood there bouncing up and down, a look of glee on his face.

"Come on, Eddie." He grinned, laughing as Edward rolled his eyes and grumbled about not being called Eddie. He shoved the key in the lock, opening the door before being shoved out the way by James. All of us laughed at his enthusiasm. "Oh, Esme, I'm home!" We laughed again as Esme appeared, looking confused as she wiped her hands on a towel.

"James Hill!" She cried, her arms opening as she embracing him, laughing enthusiastically.

"Look what I found." Edward grinned leaning against the doorframe as he watched the interaction between his mother and his best friend.

"Oh, how I've missed you, you insane rascal." She laughed and he made a dramatic show of taking a bow, which again, made everyone laugh.

I guess I'd misjudged James. He wasn't someone that seemed to judge people too quickly, but then again, there was a huge chance that Edward had told him what we'd done to him here in Forks and he was just ignoring it until later. Or until the rest of his friends arrived.

Now _that_ would be fun.

"So, where's Mr. C?" He asked, looking around expectantly.

"Well, the last I saw him, he was sitting in his office, shovelling mom's lunch into his mouth." Edward laughed and his mom rolled her eyes, smiling at his words. "I've even got picture proof."

"And a threat to his life to go with it." I laughed as he nodded, grinning at his mom.

Seeing Edward around James, he was like a completely different person. With us, there were still walls, as we all expected there to be but with James here, it was like all the barriers Edward had put up since he got back to Forks just crumbled. I wish I knew how to get him to do that. Maybe someday, I could.

I wasn't holding out much hope though.

"Hey, Bella." Alice made her way over to me, smiling slightly. "Can you show me where the bathroom is? I know you've been staying here for the project and I don't want to ask Esme or Edward. Tell me something more embarrassing." She laughed and I shook my head, laughing along with her.

"Come on." I led her up the stairs towards the guest bedroom and the en suite I used in the morning.

"So . . ." She hedged as she opened the door and walked back out into the guest room. "How are things between you and Edward? They seem better."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure." I sighed, sitting down on the bed, running my hands through my hair. "I mean, I think that we're doing okay and that I could someday be someone he might trust and then James turns up and I see what he's like when he's completely relaxed. I now know that I'm way off course."

"We did some fucked up stuff to him, Bells." She sighed and I nodded, closing my eyes. "He's not going to let that go anytime soon."

"I know." And I did know. The revelation from earlier about his inability to go into enclosed spaces because it caused him to remember being shut in the locker sprang to the forefront of my mind. That was something I wouldn't be sharing with Alice. Edward had told me that in confidence and I didn't want to betray his trust. "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing that I know of. What were you thinking?" Her face brightened at the idea of some girl time. We hadn't really spent that much time together over the last few weeks. I missed my pixie time.

"Well, Edward's tutoring Brittany for a couple of hours tomorrow," clearly she picked up the sour tone in my voice and giggled. I shot her a dirty look in response and she held up her hands, still smirking yet clearly not going to comment just yet. And I say 'yet' because she will. No doubt she will. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a little while."

"You wanna go shopping?" She asked, grinning at me like the little idiot she was.

"No, no shopping." I whined and she scowled at me. I grinned at her to let her know I was only joking but clearly stating I did not want to go shopping any time soon. "But we could either hang at one of our houses or go for coffee."

"Or do both." She agreed and I nodded. "What time's he tutoring?"

"From about eleven, I think." I couldn't remember exactly. "Not sure what time he'll finish. Doesn't matter, does it?" She shook her head, beaming at me. "Come on, let's go before they send a search party."

As we made our way back downstairs, I could hear Edward laughing loudly and I saw why when I saw James dancing around the lounge like a chicken. Or was it a monkey? Maybe it was a mixture of the both of them. Either way, he looked like an idiot. And he didn't give a shit.

I saw Esme sitting on the couch, mug in her hand, wiping at her eyes, her cheeks slightly red from where she had been laughing so much. I don't think I'd seen her let go like that before. It was strange, seeing refined and dignified Esme Cullen giggling like a school girl. Definitely one for the memory bank.

"And Jane just let him get away with that?" Edward managed to choke out, shaking his head at his friend.

"Not a chance." James laughed, flopping on his ass on the thick faux fur rug the Cullen's had in front of the coffee table. He crossed his arms, resting his chin on them on the coffee table, a grin plastered on his face. "She made Dem pay for that shit."

"Do I want to know?" He asked, though the look in his eyes said that certainly, yes he did want to know. If I didn't know better, I knew Edward would use the information against this 'Dem' in the future when it would be beneficial to him. Even his short time back in Forks told me that he could retain information for a long time.

"Oh yeah." He laughed, pulling out his phone. "I don't have to tell you. I can show you." He waved his phone next to his head in a 'just wait and see' style.

Edward moved off the sofa and made his way over to James. He glanced over my way as he went a smirked. "Hey, Bella. Didn't realise you were there." I waved him off in a nonchalant way. Some part of me realised that I was becoming aware of Edward's every movement, that something about him seemed to call out to me. It sounded stupid and like something out of some shitty love film Alice always raves about but it was as though my body was aware of him at all times. I glanced at James to see him staring at me. The look in his eyes wasn't the same one he'd had only moments ago. It was cold and hard and I knew that without a doubt, he knew who I was to Edward. Or at least, who I had _been_ to Edward.

He grin that spread over his face as the sounds of a video was incredible. It was as though there was something there, some kind of light that hadn't been there before was shining through him. I knew that it was because one of his best friends was sitting there, knowing him a video of another good friend. Probably making an ass out of himself but that's not the point.

"Oh, man, you've got to YouTube that shit." He laughed as he passed the phone back to James.

"Already done, my friend." James replied, pride in his voice as he slipped his phone back in his pocket. "Already done. And it seems our boy is quite popular." Edward raised an eyebrow and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. "Seven hundred thousand hits." That set off another round of laughter from Edward as James got up to show Esme the video. Again, she erupted into a fit of giggles at the actual visualisation of the story James had told.

"Hey, I'm going to head off." Alice said quietly and everyone bade her goodbye as I walked her to the door. "You okay?" She asked, her eyes full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I shrugged and I knew she didn't believe me. "I don't know. I just wonder . . . will he ever be like that here?" She shook her head, confused. "Look at him. He hasn't laughed like that since he's been back and I wonder if he ever will without his friends from Chicago here."

"I don't know, Bells." She sighed, walking through the door. I followed her out to her car, leaning against it as she opened the door, watching me carefully. "You're falling, aren't you?"

I looked up at her, unable to keep my expression blank. Even if I'd tried, Alice would have seen straight through it. For all the 'friends' I had at school, Alice was the only one that actually knew me. She knew everything about me and could tell when I wasn't being honest. Even with myself.

"Yeah." I whispered, looking down at the ground as I scuffed the dirt with the toe of my shoe. "And I don't know what to do about it."

"Well . . . it seems that the only thing you can do is let it happen. If you're honest with yourself and him, there's nothing he can do to call you out." She sounded like there was something else behind that statement.

"What? You think that he's been looking for something he can throw back at me?" I asked her and she shrugged. Would he do something like that? When I thought about it, after everything we put him through before he left, it wouldn't really surprise me. I think I would too.

"I don't know." She replied cryptically. "You never know. But if you're honest, there's nothing he can do, right?" She had a point. "I'll see you at school." I nodded, moving away from the car and watching her pull out down the driveway.

Closing the door softly behind me, I saw Edward in the kitchen, pouring himself some soda. I moved into the kitchen to join him, my throat suddenly dry.

"Everything alright?" He asked, glancing up at me. He sounded concerned but after what Alice had said outside, I wondered if he wasn't just a really good actor.

"Yeah." I smiled slightly at him. "Alice just had something she needed to talk to me about."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, putting the bottle of soda back into the fridge. He turned to face me, his brow furrowing slightly as he stood there. "Everything alright?"

I shook my head, trying to clear it before giving him a small smile. "Yeah," I could see he didn't believe me. "I've just got something on my mind, that's all."

"You sure?" He asked and I nodded again, praying he would drop it. "Alright. I didn't imagine myself _ever_ saying this but . . . you need someone to talk to, I'm here. You know that, right?"

Did I?

"Thank you."

"No problem." He gave me a smile before making his way out into the living room again.

I grabbed a book from my school bag and made my way into the den, wanting to be alone for a little while. Opening it to where I left off, I tried to lose myself in the imaginary world of the characters written on that pages in front of me. What I'd read of the book so far was really good and I really wanted to be able to finish it soon.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be happening for me tonight.

After reading the same paragraph about six times, I gave up with a sigh and closed the book, deciding to try and sort through everything in my head.

Was Alice right?

Was I falling for Edward?

If you'd told me that at the beginning of the school year, I would have slapped you and laughed in your face. But now . . . now I wasn't so sure. Was it possible to fall for someone after such a short amount of time? I mean, my mom and dad got married after they'd only been together for four months. And they were still together now. I guess it's possible, right?

I didn't know what to think.

"Knock knock." I was startled out of my thoughts by someone standing at the door. I turned to see James standing there, a wry smile on his face. "Something serious going on inside your head, yeah?" I nodded, letting out a small breath. "Well, I'm heading off and I just wanted to say it was nice to meet you." He stepped into the room and I wondered what else was going through his mind. He stopped just in front of me, looking down at me.

"Something else?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him and he laughed.

"You know, I couldn't believe it when Eddie told me that he had to work on a project with you. But part of me did and part of me worried." I looked away from him, knowing where this was going. "Part of me worried that when he moved back to this tiny little town, he would turn into who he was when he first moved to Chicago. You see, we all love Eddie. We love who he became when he was in Chicago. When he first moved there, he was quiet and didn't really trust people. It didn't take him long to admit that he had been the school geek back here but it took him four months to open up about some of the things you assholes did to him. He hasn't gotten over it and I'm not sure he ever will." As fun loving and carefree as this guy seemed, he could sure scare the shit out of someone when he wanted to. "Now, I don't usually make it a habit to threaten girls, but you . . . you're one of a kind, so I'll make an exception here. Do not fuck with Edward. You and your bitch friends have done enough to him and if I hear that you've hurt him again in any way, it won't just be me that you have to answer to. I don't hit girls, but there are plenty of girls I know that would gladly beat you to a pulp if you hurt him again." He moved away, glancing back as if to make sure I'd understood.

I had. I'd understood loud and clear.

Edward had friends that were willing to defend him. Friends that would do anything for him.

For some reason, that revelation made me analyse the relationships I had with _my_ friends. It didn't take me long to actually realise that apart from Alice and Jasper, I didn't really _have_ any friends. They all just hung around me because of the 'popular' status it gave them.

I didn't really have anyone that I could rely on like Edward did. He might have felt alone – scratch that _been_ alone – while he lived here, but in some ways, it seemed like that might have been better to me. At least he knew where he stood with everyone. Sure, he would have been lonely and hurt, but maybe that would have been better than being in constant limbo all the time. But then again, I have no idea what it was like to be completely alone. I've always been surrounded by people my whole life. Even if I didn't necessarily want to be.

I didn't want to be that person anymore. I didn't want to be the person everyone floods to but doesn't actually like. I wanted real friends. More people like Alice to be there for me. People who actually cared what I thought about something, that cared about what I cared about.

I didn't want pseudo friends who couldn't give a shit.

I wanted to change.

"Hey," I looked over to the door to see Edward standing there, a look of concern on his beautiful face. "Everything okay?" I nodded, giving him a small smile. "Really?" He walked into the room and knelt down in front of me. He lifted his hand and wiped a thumb gently across my cheek, under my eye, pulling it away. I was surprised to see moisture on the pad of his thumb. I didn't even realise I was crying. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." I sighed, shaking my head butt he way he raised his eyebrow told me he wasn't going to let it go. "It's nothing, really."

"It's enough to make you cry." He said, his voice so soft that in that moment, I knew he was being genuine. All thoughts of the possibility of him setting me up for the fall I so deserved went out of the window.

"It's just . . . seeing you with James . . . it, um . . ." I could see he was confused, wondering what the hell his friend had anything to do with me crying. "It made me realise . . ."

"Realise what?" He pushed gently and I let out a breath, wiping the tears I now _knew_ were falling. "Hey, made you realise what?"

"That I don't actually have any friends." I whispered and he sat back on his heels, looking extremely confused.

"Of course you do." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "What about everyone at school?"

"Oh please." I choked out a laugh, actually finding it funny that he would assume that any of that lot gave a crap about me. "They're not my friends. They're only there because they believe that with me they're popular. That people will magically like them if they're seen with me. They don't give a shit about me. None of them actually know me. The only one who does is Alice."

"Well, if that's the case, aren't you better off being rid of them?" He asked, shifting to sit Indian style in front of me and I sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just . . . it would have been nice to realise that I had more than one friend here in this town. I mean, I've lived here my whole life and . . . I don't know." I looked down at my hands, playing with a loose thread on my shirt.

"You have more than one friend, Bella." I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about. "Jasper?"

"Well, yeah, but I think he just comes as a package with Alice." He laughed, nodding, knowing that Jasper wouldn't go against Alice on anything. The boy was whipped and Alice knew it. Hell, I think he knew it.

"And . . . me." His voice was so soft I barely caught it. I looked at him slowly, wondering what he was talking about. Clearly he saw my confused and sighed, running his hand through his hair again. "Shocking, right?" I nodded and he let out a laugh. "I'll admit, when this project first started, I hated you." Ouch, go for the jugular, why don't you? "But . . . over the last couple of weeks, I'll admit, you've changed Bella. You've changed from being someone who cared only about appearances and being on top to someone that that shit doesn't really matter to anymore. I mean, before I left, all you cared about – or at least, all it _seemed_ you cared about – was making me miserable. But now, you don't seem to have that one track mind anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Let me put it this way." He rested his elbows on his knees. "If you were the same person you were before I left, when I told you about tutoring Brittany, you would have probably done everything you could to make her miserable, right? Though I'm not sure why." He really sounded confused about that. Was it any wonder? I wasn't exactly being clear with how I felt. "But now, yeah you made a few cracks and remarks about her but for the most part, you left it alone. That indicates change, Bella. And maybe that's why the assholes at school are so bent out of shape. "You're changing who you are and they don't like it." He had a point and I couldn't help but watch him as he lithely stood up. He stopped as he reached the door, turning to look at me again. "As long as you don't change for anyone but yourself."

I thought about that as he left the room. I didn't want to change for anyone but myself. I knew that it was Edward that instigated the change, but I realised now that because of him I had realised I wasn't happy with who I was as a person.

He had started it off, but I wanted to be a better person because of myself.

And the first thing I had to do was try and make things up to Edward. And I think I had a pretty good idea where to start.

I made my way downstairs, looking for Esme. I knew that she hadn't gone to bed, seeing as she had to pass the den to get up the stairs. I found her curled up, watching something on TV. She smiled at me as I walked into the room, holding my breath as she watched me.

"Everything okay, honey?" Her tone was as sweet and kind as ever and it made me feel like even more of a bitch than normal.

"Yeah, everything's fine." I sat down on the end of the sofa as she watched me. "I was just wondering if I could borrow your laptop. Mine's dead and Alice has the charger for it. I know Edward's probably using his."

"Of course you can dear." She smiled at me before leaning over and pulling it out from the shelf under the coffee table. "Let me just start it up for you."

"Thank you." I said softly as she entered the password and handed the computer to me. I moved to the armchair, tucking my feet up underneath me as I opened an internet browser. I could feel her eyes on me as I opened up Google and typed in what I needed.

I didn't personally have a hand in this particular act of cruelty but I still felt like I was responsible somehow. It had been my 'friends' that had done it to him and I couldn't really get over that.

I knew it was going to be a long road to walk down, but hopefully, this first step was in the right direction.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns. I have nothing to do with the original Twilight. This plot however, is mine. Edward . . . . is not :(**_

_**I know. I know. I hang my head in shame about the length of time it's taken me to update this story. Now I can assure you all that I have not given up on any of my stories and they will all be finished. Thankfully, I've been given a new shift at work, which gives me more time to write so it won't be a year between updates.**_

_**Did I say I was sorry? No? Well, I am.**_

_**17**__**th**__** October 2009**_

_**Edward**_

There had been something up with Bella for the last couple of days and I couldn't put my finger on it. Having been with her almost every day for the last month or so had made it so I could understand her fairly easily.

Something had upset her.

And I had an idea of what it was.

Ever since we had had that little chat in the den there had been something off about her.

She had been quieter than normal, a little more reserved than she had been. She hadn't even engaged in the shit that her little posse had been spewing. Let's just say that Tanya was revelling in the fact that she appeared to be the new queen bee around the place.

Not that Bella seemed to give a shit about any of that anymore.

She seemed content to sit with Alice, Jasper and myself at lunch, not really giving a shit about what the others were saying about her. She was still the head cheerleader, so she wasn't knocked too far down the 'social ladder' or what-the-fuck-ever. Tanya wasn't too mouthy to her because she knew that Bella still had the power to get her kicked off the squad.

"Hey, Edward." I closed my locker and turned to see Rosalie standing next to me, a small smile on her face.

"What can I do for you, Rosalie?" I asked, leaning against my locker, deciding not to be a jerk right now. She bit her bottom lip, looking at the ground.

"Is everything okay with Bella?" She asked softly and I blinked, confused. "I mean, she seemed so . . . down over the last couple of days and . . . that's not like her. I've asked her if she's alright and she just said that she's fine, which I'm sure you know . . ."

"Is the default answer for someone whose clearly _not_ fine." I sighed and she nodded, worrying her bottom lip again. She looked genuinely concerned and I didn't blame her. "I don't know what's going on. You're right. She's not been right but she hasn't said anything to me about it and I don't think I'd be the first one she'd go to about shit like that."

"You guys are getting along now, though, right?"

"Kinda, yeah. Not in the 'let's sit down and share all the crap we're feeling' way but we're not trying to kill each other anymore, which is an improvement." I shrugged and she gave me a small smile.

"I'm just . . . I'm just worried about her, that's all." She looked down again, bringing her books to her chest in a protective manor. It was as if she was shielding herself from something. If I'm being perfectly honest, she looked scared. I just couldn't define what of and I wasn't really one to ask. "I just want to know that she's alright."

I nodded, giving her a small smile. "If she's feeling down, just let her know that you're there for her. That's all you can really do. If she wants to talk, she'll come to you."

She nodded, giving me a small smile. "Thanks, Edward." I raised an eyebrow and she chuckled lightly. "For letting me know that I'm not being stupid for worrying about Bella. For not telling me to fuck off as soon as you saw it was me standing here. And for knowing that there's been something off about her."

"You might be at odds now, Rosalie, but you're still her friend. Let her know that and I'm sure you'll be fine." I looked at my watch quickly and her eyes flicked to the clock I knew was at the end of the hallway. "Anyway, I gotta get to class. Just remind her that you're there for her. That's all you can do."

"Thanks, Edward." She said before making her way around me and to her next class.

Needless to say, I didn't pay attention in French. That class was bullshit anyway and from my point of view it was an easy A, so I didn't really need to pay attention to whatever the hell was going on.

I made my way outside to the bench Jasper, Alice, Bella and I had taken to frequenting at lunch, wondering how much longer we're going to be able to stay out here before Jasper and I experienced blue balls for real. Not looking forward to it.

I sat down just as Alice and Bella walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Hey, Edward!" Alice grinned, seeming to bounce as she sat down in front of me. I swear, she needed to watch her sugar intake or take some Valium or some shit like that. Girl was too hyperactive for her own good.

"Hey, Alice." I smirked, shaking my head as I grabbed the food my mom had made last night. Mushroom risotto. Not as good as it had been last night but still better than anything anyone else I knew could come up with. Bella took out a tub the same as mine before grabbing a fork she had taken this morning, just as I had and tucking in to her lunch. I raised an eyebrow at Alice who shrugged, giving me a confused look.

If she didn't want to talk now then that was alright but I was going to ask what was up in Biology.

After Jasper turned up a few minutes later, complaining about his Spanish teacher holding that class late because _she _was the one that turned up late to start with, lunch passed in the usual fashion. Alice was sitting there bouncing on about some fashion programme that was on TV. Something about models. I don't know. Personally, I didn't really listen to what she was saying and I got the idea that Jasper wasn't really listening either.

Though, I was sure that he'd heard all of this so often, he knew exactly what was coming out of her mouth. At least, I hoped he did. I got the idea that Alice would be one to take retribution if she knew that he was ignoring her.

"Fuck off, Em!" We all looked up to see Rosalie storming out of the hallway, clearly pissed off. We looked at each other, glancing around and seeing that there was no one else out here. She'd probably come out here for some kind of peace from whatever the fuck was happening inside. "Leave me alone, Emmett!"

"No." I rolled my eyes, hearing Emmett's voice following after her. "You think I want my girl being around shit like him? Not a fucking chance, Rosalie!"

"Uh-oh, Em's pissed." Alice said softly, glancing out of the corner of her eye.

"How'd you guess?" I replied flatly and she chuckled, knowing that the frustration of the couple shouting a few metres away was obvious. Clearly they hadn't noticed us sitting here though.

"Emmett never calls her Rosalie." Bella said softly, watching the two of them closely. "He always calls her Rose or Rosie. I don't think he's called her Rosalie since they've been together."

"Must be fucked off then." I shrugged, turning back to my lunch.

"You think I give a shit about what you want, Emmett?" She shot back, clearly squaring up to him. "You don't control me, Emmett! You can't control who I talk to and what I do!"

"I don't want you fucking talking to him!" I raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering if Emmett had actually heard anything she had just said. I knew that Emmett had seen Rosalie and I talking or one of his little minions had seen us and tattled to him and now she was getting the shit for it. It sounded like she was holding her own though and that made me smile a little, if I'm completely honest.

"Do you not listen to me?" She huffed and we all smirked. "You can't tell me what to do, Emmett. You don't own me. And you know what, I don't even feel like I know you anymore. You're not the same person you used to be, Emmett and I don't like who you are. Until you get over it and grow the fuck up, we're done!"

I felt my eyebrows fly up and the others were sitting there looking shocked, clearly wondering what it was they'd heard.

We all turned to hear Rosalie storming away and Emmett standing there looking shocked. "Did that just happen?" Alice asked quietly and we all nodded, clearly wondering what the hell was going to happen now.

Alice and Bella looked at each other before glancing at us and standing up to follow Rosalie. Jasper and I knew that we'd been abandoned until the next class. We noticed that the girls had left their bags and guessed that they knew we were in classes with them next.

We grabbed their backs, packing their lunches away and separating for our classes. I knew Jasper had History on the other side of the school so he turned down that way while I made my way to the Biology lab, sitting down at mine and Bella's table.

She walked in just before the bell went and gave me a small smile when she saw I'd brought her bag in with me.

"Everything alright?" I asked quietly and she looked over at me, smiling softly.

"Yeah," she breathed, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Apparently Emmett's been a jerk for a while now and he's been taking it out on everyone else, especially Rose and today she'd just had enough. I don't know what it was that set him off today but the way he was talking to her, she said that he scared him for the first time since they've been together. I've never heard her say that. He's always made her feel safe." She shook her head, sighing softly. "Something must have happened to set him off."

"She was talking to me." I said quietly and she looked up at me, clearly confused. "She was worried about you." Again, with the confused. "You've been off for the last few days, everyone's noticed that you're more quiet than normal and Rosalie was just wondering if you were okay. I think that's what kind of set him off, I think. You know he hates me. And you heard just as well as I did that he said '_I don't want you talking to him.'_ I think it's clear who he's talking about."

She sighed, nodding, looking down at the table in front of her. "It's just so stupid." She sounded frustrated and I couldn't agree more.

"So is she done with him or was that a 'heat of the moment, thing'?" She raised an eyebrow at me and I chuckled, shaking my head. "You know I don't give a crap about gossip. I just want to know whether or not I'm going to have a Neanderthal showing up on my doorstep or trying to ambush me any time soon."

"Well, you do seem to be the main factor in all of this." She chuckled and I rolled my eyes. I knew that my arrival back into town had caused a bit of turbulence at the school. I didn't much care for it and I knew that if I had come back as the person I was when I'd left, none of this would have happened.

Couldn't say it bothered me to be perfectly honest.

People here needed a reality check if they thought that they were anything special.

"I just hope that Emmett doesn't do anything stupid." She sighed, resting her head in her hands. "Rose's parents are out of town at the moment and she doesn't want to be at home without them there."

"You weren't kidding when you said Emmett had scared her, were you?" I asked, shocked that Rosalie didn't feel safe at home. "I mean, Jasper'll be there, right?"

"Yeah, but even so, he's not a match for Emmett. Everyone knows that. Hell, the only one that's taken on Emmett and not come out with some kind of injury is you." She chuckled and I couldn't help but smirk. "And you have to admit, that was because you managed to surprise him." I nodded, knowing myself that if he'd been expecting my retaliation, his size would have been a major factor in that little confrontation. "If Emmett wanted to get to Rose, he'd go through Jasper. No question."

"You really think he'd hurt her?" I could hear the confusion in my voice and she let out a large breath of air. "I mean, I know that he's pissed or whatever but I can't see him hurting her. Even if he's an enormous ass."

"He's got a bit of a temper and even though I know that nothing's happened before, you can never tell." There was a look in her eyes and I knew that there was something else going on there.

"_I guess . . . I guess it was something to do with . . . control, I guess. I know you think that I'm the Ice Bitch, right? Well, I wasn't always. I used to be nice. I used to be friendly to people but after . . ."_

Rosalie's words from a few days ago sounded in my mind and I knew that there was something that must have happened in her past to make her so wary of someone she'd so clearly trusted for a long time. I wasn't going to ask, considering it wasn't my business but I knew that she wouldn't be feeling safe with Emmett around for the time being.

"Something happened to her to enhance that fear." I said softly and she looked up at me, confirming my words. "I'm not going to ask, purely because it's not my business but she needs people that she trusts around her."

"I know what you mean." She sighed and glared angrily at Mr Banner because he'd decided he was going to start the class. I chuckled, shaking my head as I turned to face the front, knowing that he'd be more likely to call on you if you didn't look like you were paying attention.

I thought for a moment, wondering how Rosalie and Jasper were going to be with Emmett being pissed about Rosalie ending their relationship. They were probably overreacting but it was always better safe than sorry.

After thinking for a minute or two, I opened up my notebook and wrote a quick note to Bella, thinking (not for the first time) that I had finally lost it.

_You think Rosalie and Jasper would object to staying at mine. At least for tonight so she feels safe._

She read the note and her eyes widened slightly as she looked up at me, a questioning look on her face. I shrugged, thinking that it was just an idea. Just because I didn't really like Rosalie didn't mean she had to be afraid. I took the notebook back and wrote down just as much.

_**You're amazing, you know that, right?**_

I raised an eyebrow and she nodded, writing something else down.

_**I'll ask her in last period.**_

I nodded, turning back to Banner to make it look like I was the least bit interested in what he had to say. Truth be told, I'd done all of this in Chicago so I really didn't need to do anything.

Thankfully, after what seemed like one of the most boring hours in the world, the bell rang and we all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Bella looked at me as we packed up out shit with something I didn't really recognise.

"You'd really have Rosalie and Jasper round to stay?" She asked and I nodded. "That's really amazing of you, Edward."

"Like I said, just because I don't really like Rosalie, doesn't mean that she should have to be afraid. You said her parents are away, right?" She nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Well, then, she shouldn't be afraid that something could happen while they're away."

"You . . . you're amazing." She whispered and I shook my head.

"No, I just know when things are fucked up." I zipped up my bag, throwing it over my shoulder as we started to walk out of the class. "I've still got to ask my parents, so you never know what they're gonna say."

"Like your parents would ever turn anyone away." She was right about that, I had to admit. My mom and dad would have no problems with there being people around the house. I think my mom would be ecstatic that I was making more friends here.

I texted my mom out in the corridor and she replied pretty quickly. "My mom says it's fine." She rolled her eyes, nodding as she grinned. "Look, I'll mention it to Jasper in Gym and see what he says." She nodded, mentioning that she would mention it to Rosalie.

Talking to Jasper turned out to be the right thing to do. Apparently Rosalie had spoken to him at the end of lunch and he knew that she was afraid of how Emmett could be. He told me that though he would never intentionally hurt Rosalie, he had an anger problem and there was no telling what he could do if really pissed.

He thanked me before making his way over to his sister in front of the school. The two of them made their way over to where I was waiting for Bella and they gave me a small smile.

"You don't have to do this, Edward." Jasper said softly, keeping an arm around his sister. "I mean, we'll be alright until our parents get home. I don't think Emmett will do anything stupid."

"You sure about that?" I asked, nodding towards the school entrance where Emmett was storming towards us. He looked like he wouldn't be adverse to violence and in that moment I could see why Rosalie was scared of him as she was. "Rosalie, you wanna get in the car?" She looked at me, confused and I opened the door. She glanced around and saw him walking towards us before looking at me. I nodded towards the car and she climbed in. I shut the door, locking the car before turning around.

"What the hell are you doing, Emmett?" Jasper asked him, standing as broad as he could go as I leaned on the car, blocking Rosalie from his view.

"I want to talk to Rose." He spoke to Jasper but he glared at me. I gave him a half shrug, shaking my head at him.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, Emmett." I took Jasper's diversion of Emmett's attention to glance down at Rosalie. She was sat there, stoic but there were tears streaming down her face. I could see that her hands were shaking as she gripped the straps of her bag and I could see that she was abso-fucking-lutely terrified.

"Look, Jasper, I want to talk to her." He practically snarled and I was glad I'd told her to get in the car.

"And I told you, she doesn't want to talk to you, Emmett." Jasper wasn't backing down. The guy wasn't as big as Emmett but I'd seen the way he moved in basketball. He was quick as a motherfucker. "Leave it, Emmett. If and when she wants to talk to you, she will. But not before then and no one is going to make her."

"Look-" He pointed a finger at Jasper, who glared up at him.

"Emmett, leave her alone." I looked to see Bella and Alice walking over to us. Their expressions were those that made me believe in the phrase 'if looks could kill'. I was glad that I wasn't the one on the other end of those glares right about now. They marched around Emmett and stood behind Jasper, blocking Rosalie completely from Emmett's reach.

I caught Jasper's eye as he glanced around to check on his sister. I looked at Emmett, who was now focused on the tiny girls that were repeating Jasper's words of leaving Rosalie alone. I made a tiny movement with my head, silently motioning that I was going to get in the car and get Rosalie away from him and he nodded. I turned to see her sitting in the car, her head in her hands, completely breaking down and I immediately felt for her. This wasn't the ice bitch that had been plain nasty and spiteful before I'd left for Chicago. No. This girl was terrified and not just of the hulking eighteen year old wanting to get to her.

There were demons in her mind that she was afraid of.

I swiftly moved around the back of the car as Jasper joined in with the girls, practically yelling at Emmett to leave Rosalie alone, that she would talk to him if and when she wanted to. I had a feeling that he was drawing Emmett's attention away from what I was doing.

His love for his sister was obvious.

I slipped into the car, startling Rosalie. She jumped, gasping slightly before seeing that it was me sitting there, shoving my keys into the ignition.

"Seatbelt." I said softly and she looked confused for a moment. I grabbed my seatbelt, putting it on and she seemed to snap into action, pulling her seatbelt on. She turned back to me, looking confused but I didn't really pay attention before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. I didn't look in the mirror as I pulled away from the school.

"Where are we going?" She asked, her voice nothing but a whisper and I glanced at her. She was practically curled up into a ball and she looked terrified. I didn't want to imagine what had happened to her to make her so afraid.

"Your house." I replied softly, looking back to the road. "What street?"

"Um . . . Quinault." She didn't take her eyes off me as I slowed, taking the turn onto the street that would take me down towards her house.

Apart from her letting me know her house number, neither of us said anything as I turned onto her street. I pulled up outside her house, turning off the ignition. Neither of us moved for a moment before I turned to face her.

Saying that she looked like hell, it would be an understatement. I had never seen Rosalie Hale looking anything less than immaculate, but now, sitting there in the passenger seat of my car, she looked like nothing more than a frightened girl. Her hair, which normally never had a hair out of place, was in serious need of a brush as though she'd run her hands through it a million times in the last hour or so. Which I didn't think was too far off the truth. She had black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy from the tears she'd shed and I could see how hard she'd been crying from the small red spots that had appeared on her cheeks.

"Get some of your stuff. Everyone is staying at mine tonight." She looked at me, shocked at my words. "That includes you."

"Why?" She whispered, her eyes wide.

"Honestly . . ." I let out a breath, leaning back in my seat. "I don't know. I honestly don't know, Rosalie. But I can see how scared you are. I don't know why you're so scared and I'm not gonna ask because it's none of my business but I know that your parents are out of town and you're not going to feel safe here." She looked down at her hands, sniffing gently. "Now, go and get some of your stuff. Everyone is meeting back at my house."

She nodded, taking off her seatbelt and gripping the door handle.

"Will you come in with me?" She asked, sounding scared even though she was going into what was supposed to be the one place she's supposed to feel safe. I nodded, climbing out of the car and following her as she walked up the path and unlocked her front door.

I closed the door behind me, stating that I would wait for her downstairs as she gathered up some things for the night. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as it started to vibrate.

"Hey," I answered, seeing that it was Bella calling.

"_Hey, is she okay?" _She sounded worried and I could hear Jasper asking her to ask me questions in the background.

"She's a bit shaken up but we're at the house grabbing some of her clothes and things for the night." She sighed in relief, relaying the information to Jasper, who fell silent. I knew that my dad was on a late shift at the hospital and my mom would be in Port Angeles until six so they wouldn't be there when the others arrived. "We'll meet you at the house. You remember where the emergency key is, right?"

"_Yeah."_

I looked up to see Rosalie walking down the stairs, carrying a black bag. She'd tied her hair back and washed her face. She'd traded her heels for some sneakers and was now looking less like the bitch queen seen at school and more like the all American girl next door. "We'll meet you at the house." We said our goodbyes and hung up. "Feel a little better?" I asked and she gave me a small smile, nodding.

"Thank you, Edward." She said softly, looking down at her feet, seeming very unsure of herself. Not something I was used to when it came to Rosalie. "There's no reason for you do this for me but you are and . . . thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

We made our way out of the house, Rosalie locking it behind her. I took her bag from her as I opened the trunk and put it inside. I nodded for her to get in as I closed it, making my way around to the driver's side.

She looked in the side mirror as I pulled out onto the street, biting down on her lip harshly. I glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing what she was. Apparently Emmett was not one to take a hint as his Jeep turned the corner onto the street. I was just turning off and I hoped that he was too focused on getting to the house to pay attention to my car as it turned the corner.

It wasn't like it blended in.

"Hey," I drew her attention away from him and back to me. "He's not gonna get to you. He'll have to deal with my mother if he wants to do that."

She nodded, her bottom lip quivering slightly. She ducked her head down, sniffing gently.

It didn't take us long to get to my house and I saw that Alice and Jasper's cars were both sat outside. Considering none of them were outside, I could see that Bella had found the key and let the three of them in.

I grabbed Rosalie's bag out of the trunk as she stood by the car, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched me. "Come on." I gave her a small smile and she tried to return it, not really succeeding. It didn't matter. There was obviously a lot running through her mind at the moment.

"Rose!" I stepped away from her as Jasper ran up to his sister, wrapping his arms around her, whispering things in her ear. I closed the door behind the two of us before placing her bag on the floor by the stairs and left the two of them to it.

"Hey," I turned to see Bella and Alice standing there, smiling at me. "What you're doing is amazing, Edward." Alice was watching the two of them, a small smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"She's scared. She shouldn't be on her own right now." I shrugged, moving into the kitchen to try and find some food. Even though my mom would probably kill me for digging through the cupboards, I was starving.

"But still . . ." Bella shrugged, leaning on the island. "You didn't have to do this."

"It wouldn't have felt right leaving her on her own, even if she did have Jasper there. The saying 'safety in numbers' is true. Four or five people are harder to take on than one or two."

"And it's exactly that that makes you amazing." She sighed, shaking her head, chuckling slightly.

I shrugged, grabbing a granola bar and making my way past the two of them, wanting to get out of my jeans. They were annoying me today and I felt the need to put some sweats on.

After changing, I flopped down on my bed, running my hands down my face and letting out a frustrated groan, wondering what the hell I was doing.

I now had four of the six people that had made my life hell before I'd moved away down in my living room. Was I really that masochistic? Maybe I was.

But the thing was, I could see Bella changing more and more every day and Alice and Jasper weren't as cruel as the others had been. Though they hadn't been the ringleaders of their group, they hadn't done anything to stop it. Getting to know the two of them, I could see that they had grown tired of the shallow minded people they had spent all of their time at school with for the last three years. The two of them just wanted to be who they were and I could see that being with that group didn't let them do that. I guess my coming back was the push they needed to break free of them.

And Rosalie.

Well, even though she had been nasty and spiteful, the events of today brought to light the fact that there might be something else there. There was something in her past that frightened her even now. I didn't know what it was and I wasn't going to ask. It wasn't any of my business but I wasn't going to allow her to be afraid and vulnerable when she could be safe with people that cared about her around her.

She was safe and that was all that mattered.

"Edward?" I looked towards the door, seeing Bella standing there, a small smile on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I sat up, leaning back on my pillows. "Just . . . processing, I guess. How's Rosalie?"

"She's okay." She stepped into the room, walking over and sitting down on the bed. I saw that she had a brown envelope in her hand that she was gripping tightly. "She's calmed down. I think she's feeling safer now that she's away from Emmett. I don't think he'll come here."

"Let's hope not." I nodded, wondering what would happen if he did and came face to face with my mom when she got home. That would be something to see.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Emmett versus my mom." She laughed, shaking her head.

"Esme would win. Hands down. I'd bet money on it."

"I think you're right." I agreed, having seen the scary side of my mom, once or twice. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, um . . ." She looked down at the envelope, biting her lip. "I, um . . . I kind of got you something." She held it out to me and I raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what the hell she was thinking. She shook it gently, wanting me to take it.

I gently took the envelope, opening it and pulling out a booklet of some kind. It was wrapped in tissue paper and I glanced up at Bella who was gnawing on her lip, nervous. I unwrapped the tissue paper, feeling the heavy weight of the paper booklet in my hands.

What the hell?

I opened up the first page, my jaw dropping slightly as I saw what it was.

Heavy manuscript paper.

Monogrammed manuscript paper.

I ran my fingers over the gold engraving of my name at the top of the paper.

_Edward A. Cullen._

"Bella . . ." I didn't know what to say. How had she known how much that this had meant to me.

"You don't have to say anything." She waved it away, like it was nothing when it abso-fucking-lutely was not. "It's nothing, really."

She really didn't understand the significance of what she'd given me.

"Thank you."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns. I have nothing to do with the original Twilight. This plot however, is mine. Edward . . . . is not :(**_

_**Can I just say that I'm loving you guys right now. I was really nervous about posting the last chapter as I thought I'd get a load of shit about the situation with Rosalie but you all shocked me in the best way. Everything in this story is planned out and nothing is accidental or spur of the moment. And I love all of you guys for your support. Only 11 chapters over 800 reviews?**_

_**You. Guys. Are. AWESOME!**_

_** 31**__**st**__** October 2009**_

_**Edward**_

"It's scary."

"It's not! It's suitable for both."

"It's creepy and weird. It's Halloween!"

I laughed at Rose's conviction on the matter at hand. It's not like it was something that was life changing but the both of us had our own opinions and it seemed that neither of us were willing to budge.

"Why do you think that?"

Her eyebrows shot up as if she thought I had gone insane. Considering that circumstances, I might have done. "Have you _watched_ it?"

I held up the piece of paper in my hand, showing her the drawing on it. "Duh!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" We both turned to see Alice, Jasper and Bella standing in the doorway to the living room.

"Ah, Jasper!" I grinned and he stepped back minimally, looking at me in alarm slightly. "Your opinion is needed. Actually, all three of you can help." The looked at each other, clearly confused. " Nightmare Before Christmas? Halloween or Christmas film?"

"The clue is in the title." Bella shrugged, walking around and sitting next to me on the couch. "The nightmare part indicates a Halloween film." Rose grinned at me, slightly smug but Bella, seeing the look on her face, held up a finger. "But the fact that it's the Nightmare Before _Christmas _says that it's also a Christmas film." Rosalie's face fell and I laughed.

"I'm inclined to go with Bella on that one." Jasper agreed and Alice nodded along with her boyfriend. "It can be watched on both holidays. The fact that it's slightly scary and also focuses on Christmas means that it's appropriate for both."

"Outnumbered, Rose." I grinned and she slumped back in her chair, huffing as she folded her arms across her chest.

"You all suck." She muttered and we laughed. "Especially you, Jazz. You're my brother, you're supposed to side with me."

"Normally, I do but with this, I have to agree with Edward." I grinned holding up my fist which he bumped, chuckling. "Anyway, what brought this up?"

"Edward wants to get that creepy skeleton as a tattoo." She muttered, pouting at the four of us.

"Jack Skellington?" Bella sat up, a grin on her face.

"You know Nightmare Before Christmas?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her, slightly sceptical.

She smirked at me before clearing her throat and sitting up straight. _"There are few can who deny, at what I do I am the best__  
__For my talents are renowned far and wide__  
__When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night__  
__I excel without ever even trying__With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms__  
__I have seen grown men give out a shriek__  
__With a wave of my hand and a well-placed moan__  
__I have swept the very bravest off their feet"_

I laughed at her rendition of the beginning of Jack's lament as she sat there, looking very proud of herself. "Well, who would have thought?"

"Not you, obviously." She rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself from smiling. "Can I see?" She nodded at the paper in my hand and I handed it to her. She grinned at the picture I'd drawn of the famous skeleton. "Headless? Nice."

The shot of Jack I'd chosen was the part of the film during Jack's lament where he takes off his head. I knew that many people had a Jack Skellington tattoo but I wanted something a little different.

"Where are you thinking of getting it?" Jasper asked, leaning over and looking at the picture. It was a rough sketch but I knew that they'd be able to smooth it out in the shop.

"My right calf." They nodded in approval.

"It's still creepy." Rose muttered and I laughed, nodding.

"That's why it's called _Nightmare_ Before Christmas." She rolled her eyes, flipping me off and we all laughed.

Things between Rose and I had been more relaxed over the last couple of weeks. She had opened up about her past and why she was the way she was and why she had relied on Emmett so heavily for so long. He had been the one that she'd had to lean on over the years since they'd moved to Forks that wasn't in her family.

He hadn't thought that he would ever scare her or behave the way he had. And now that he had, she didn't want to be around him anymore. A fact, he didn't want to accept.

Over the last two weeks, she had melded into our group, not really caring about the looks that she was getting from everyone at school. She still held her head up high as she walked through the hallways and didn't even glance at people as she sat in class. Emmett had tried to talk to her a few times but had been told to get lost, mostly by Jasper but Alice and Bella had had a hand in it as well. I didn't put myself in the middle, knowing that on some level, I was the reason for their break-up. Rose had stressed that it wasn't anything to do with me, that it was because she didn't like who she had become and she didn't like who Emmett had become.

After what we'd heard the day they'd broken up, I didn't completely believe her.

"When?" Alice asked, grinning at the picture Bella had handed to her.

"I actually managed to get an appointment for later on today." They looked at me, wide eyed. "Don't look at me like that. Just because you guys didn't know about it, doesn't mean I haven't been considering it for a while."

"What time?"

"Two." I glanced at the clock seeing that it was nearly eleven now. I would probably leave here about half twelve to make it to Port Angeles on time.

"Can we come?" Alice asked and I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? I've never been to a tattoo place before."

"I have." Bella grinned and I laughed, remembering how freaked she'd been when she'd had her tongue pierced. "Is it that same place?" I nodded. "With the guy with the weird accent?"

"No." I laughed, shaking my head. "There are other artists there. The guy that's doing mine is called Riley and he's completely understandable. I sent him an email of the picture about a week ago and we made the appointment for today. There's a woman there as well. I can't remember what her name was." I shrugged. It was simple.

"Doesn't answer my question." Alice whined and I laughed. "Can we come?"

"If you want." I shrugged and all four of them grinned. "I mean, there's not going to be much for you to do but you can come if you want."

"Great." Alice squealed, jumping up and down. You'd think that I'd told her that we were going to Disneyland or something. "That means we can get some scary movies and snacks for tonight." I rolled my eyes, knowing that Alice wasn't going to let the idea of watching scary shit and stuffing ourselves full of candy and other crap. At least my house was so far out we didn't need to keep an eye out for trick or treaters.

"Ali, baby, calm down, sweetheart." Jasper laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She pouted up at him and he laughed, kissing the top of her head. I glanced at Rose, who was smiling sadly at the two of them. I had to feel for her. Two weeks ago, she thought she had what the two of them had only to find that the boy she was with wasn't the one she had fallen for in the first place.

"I know. Why don't we go early and get some lunch before Edward gets his tattoo done." She giggled and I rolled my eyes, knowing that she would want to make a day of it.

"There's no point arguing, is there?" I asked Bella and she shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Alice knew that she would get her way so by eleven thirty we were piling into two cars and on our way to Port Angeles. Bella had been dragged into Jasper's dad's SUV that he had borrowed for the day. Rosalie and I were taking my R8, a fact she didn't seem to mind at all.

She had told me that she had a love of fast cars and she loved to tinker with engines. She was currently in the process of fixing up Jasper's car. They were working on it together, a bonding thing, it seemed.

"Shall we lose 'em?" I asked, knowing that now we were on the highway, I could easily overtake them.

She nodded, biting her lip and I put my foot down, skilfully manoeuvring around the three of them, hearing the horn blast as we laughed, essentially leaving them in the dust. I could just imagine Alice getting pissed at Jasper for not keeping up with the two of us, Jasper coming back with the fact that there was no way his dad's car could keep up with this vehicle and Bella laughing at the two of them from the backseat.

I glanced down at my phone as it lit up with a text. I asked Rose to check it for me and she raised an eyebrow. I nodded and she giggled, reading it.

"What does it say?" I asked and she grinned, glancing up at me.

"You're in for it now. Just make sure that Alice doesn't get hold of the needle when we get there." I laughed, shaking my head. "If you didn't guess, it's Bella."

"I thought so." I chuckled and she grinned. "Text her back saying that her warning has been noted."

"Done." She smirked as she dropped my phone where it's had been before. "I still can't believe that your parents got you an R8 for your birthday."

"Well, what can I say?" I shrugged, glancing over at her. "Gotta love being a doctor's son."

"I bet."

"Nah," I shook my head, slowing down when I knew that there would be a police check point. I hated driving slowly in my car but I didn't want to risk being pulled over and give my parents some reason to doubt that giving me that car was the right thing. Obviously, it had come with conditions. Safe driving was one of them.

We'd arranged to meet at LD's Woodfired Grill before we left and I chuckled as I glanced in my rearview mirror, unable to see Jasper's car behind us. Rose turned to glance out the back of the car, smirking as I slowed as we approached the town.

"Not sure where this place is." I advised Rose, pointing to the glove box. "Can you plug it into the satnav?" I grabbed it out and input the name of the restaurant, fixing it onto the holder I had on the dash as it figured out the fastest route.

It didn't take us long to wind our way through the town and find a place to park by the restaurant. She laughed as we climbed out, knowing that it would be a little while before the others arrived. I texted Bella, asking what the three of them wanted so we could order for them as we walked into the restaurant.

A hostess smiled at us as we walked in, looking me up and down. Rose scowled at her and I raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes, unable to fight a smile and I chuckled.

"Table for two?" She asked, smiling sweetly, batting her eyelashes in my direction, glancing at Rose, who stood there, looking every inch the ice bitch she was known to be in Forks.

"Actually, we're meeting some others here but we're a bit early. We're going to need a table for five." I took off my jacket and rolled up the sleeves of my sweater, feeling a bit warm now that we were inside the restaurant.

She glanced at my arms before blushing and grabbing some menus, leading us to a table. She told us that our waitress would be with us in a few minutes and I asked her if she could get her to wait until our friends arrived. She blushed again before nodding and walking back over to her station.

"She is so lucky that Bella's not here." Rose chuckled and I raised an eyebrow at her, clearly confused. "Come on, you really can't see it?" She asked and I shook my head, wondering what the hell she was talking about. "Bella likes you. As in _likes_ you, likes you."

"What are you talking about, Rose?"

"God, why are men so stupid? You might be a genius but you're stupid sometimes." She laughed dryly. "Look, Bella likes you. It's obvious in the way that she is with you. It just hasn't clicked yet. Why do you think she got you that music paper? She didn't have anything to do with that and she got it for you anyway. She even had it monogrammed for you. What do you think that means?"

"I . . . I don't know." I said softly, letting Rose's words sink in.

"I know you're still clouded and wary and I . . . understand that. But the fact that we're sitting here, you and me," she gestured between the two of us, emphasising her point, "means that you're better than anyone else we know. You're better than me for sure. I wouldn't have been able to forgive someone that had done all of that shit to me. We might not be forgiven, but you've let us in and that makes you better than anyone else I know. And you've changed Bella. She's not the same girl she was before. She's different and it's good. You being here has changed her for the better."

"Yeah," I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "But she wouldn't have reacted the way she has if I was still the same kid that left. If I'd turned up looking the way I did when I left, nothing would have changed."

"You might be right." She shrugged, not really caring. "The fact that you look different might have been the initial reason she started acting differently but do you really think that's the only reason. She started to get to know you, Edward. And she obviously liked what she found." She took a deep breath, looking at the entrance to the restaurant before looking back at me. "She'd kill me for telling you this but I think you need to know. She feels bad about what she did to you, which you know," she was right. I knew that, "but what you don't know is that she's felt so bad about it, it's reduced her to tears."

"What?" That was new. Since when did Bella cry about all of this?

She nodded, looking down at her hands. "She's cried about it. She didn't want you to know because . . . I don't know why, you'd have to ask her. On second thought, don't. I'd get in shit for it."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of her?" I chuckled and she nodded slowly, her eyes wide. Okay, maybe she was.

Our conversation was cut short as we heard Alice burst into the restaurant, calling our names and not looking pleased with us. I glanced at Rose, indicating that our conversation was not done.

"What the hell was that?" Alice demanded as she walked towards the table we were sitting at, completely bypassing the stunned looking hostess. Bella and Jasper were chuckling as they walked behind her, glancing apologetically at the woman that was watching the three of them.

They sat down, Alice huffing as she glared at the two of us Rose and I looked at each other, trying not to laugh.

"Alice, calm down." Bella sighed, sitting in the seat on my other side, shaking her head at her exuberant friend. "Be honest, if you had a car like that, would you stick to idling at sixty or seventy?" Bella asked and I looked to Alice, waiting for her answer. She didn't respond and I knew that Bella had her.

It wasn't long before a waitress came out for our orders, and I saw Alice tense as she looked at Jasper, suggestively. What surprised me was how Bella's reaction was the same when she moved around the table. Rose nudged me with her foot, raising an eyebrow and I couldn't help but feel completely confused. Since when had Bella been this way around me?

We ended up ordering one of each of the woodfired pizza's and we all ordered cokes.

"So, Eddie," I scowled at Jasper for using that goddamn name and he smirked, knowing that it pissed me off, glancing up as the waitress placed our drinks and some breadsticks on the table. "You nervous?"

"Why would I be?"

"It's a big tattoo, right?" I shrugged and he laughed. "You mean to say you're not nervous at all?"

"I say again, why should I be? Yeah, it's gonna hurt but it doesn't hurt forever. It's gonna be as annoying as fuck for the next week or so, so what?"

"I don't think I'd be this calm." Alice shook her head, grabbing a breadstick. Deciding that that was a good idea, I grabbed one as well, munching as we waited for our food to arrive.

Bella kept glancing at me a smiling as though she had a secret. It was amusing and made me curious as to what was going on inside her head. Rosalie's words ran through my mind and I wondered how accurate she actually was. Did Bella like me?

Why would she?

I didn't take long for us to devour the pizzas when they came out. Bella and I had coveted the Alfredo Mediterranean, not allowing any of the others anywhere near it. We laughed as the three of them pouted at us, carefully guarding the pizza in between us.

Eventually they shrugged and went back to the other two pizzas in front of them. Bella and I shared a victory grin before finishing off the pizza in front of us.

We left the restaurant after about an hour, deciding to leave the cars where they were and walk around to the tattoo shop. I was a little nervous about leaving my baby where she was but Bella called me a baby before grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the car, stating that if it was possible, I'd marry the thing.

And why not? She was a fine piece of machinery.

Alice squealed as she saw the shop, bounding up to it and pushing the door open, not waiting for anyone else. We all laughed, following her inside. She was looking at some of the artwork on the walls, grinning and bouncing on the tips of her toes.

"Alice, calm down." I chuckled and she glared at me quickly before turning back to the wall in front of her. "There's pointy things in here."

"She okay?" We turned to see a young blonde guy standing there, watching Alice with wide eyes. He was wiping his hands on a towel.

"Yeah," Bella waved Alice off, earning another glare from the overexcited imp. "She's always like this."

"Alrighty then, as long as she doesn't hurt herself or anyone else, I'm cool with that." He glanced around at the rest of us. "I'm guessing one of you is Edward."

"That would be me." I held up a hand, stepping towards him and taking my jacket off.

"Cool, I'm Riley," he introduced himself as he sat in a chair, opening a filing cabinet and bringing out a folder. He opened it, turning it to face me on a small desk. I grinned as I saw the drawing I'd done of Jack, finished and exactly what I wanted. "I take it from that smirk, it's alright huh?"

"Perfect."

"Black and grey."

"Yup."

"Cool, gimme a couple of minutes to get it turned into a stencil and we're good to go. Want to do it out here or in private?" He asked, pointing with his thumb to what I guessed was the same room Bella had gone into when she'd had her tongue pierced.

"Well, they badgered me to come with, so it wouldn't be right to leave 'em out here." I shrugged and he grinned, disappearing into the back room. I saw Bella looking at some Chinese symbols on the wall and walked over to her. "Thinking about getting one?" I chuckled and she looked up at me, biting her lip. "Seriously? What happened to never getting one?"

"I didn't say _never_, just not when we came here before." She shrugged and I thought back to the conversation we'd had before. She was right. She hadn't said that she'd never get one. Just that it wasn't something she wanted at that time.

"You seriously thinking about getting one?" She nodded and I smiled down at her.

"What do you think?" She turned to me, her eyes wide.

"I think that it's something you have to live with for the rest of your life. And if you don't, you have to live with a fuck ugly scar so it's something that only you can decide." She looked back at the symbols on the wall, worrying her lip again. I wanted to reach up and pull it out from in between her teeth but managed to stop myself from doing that.

_Why_ did I want to do that?

"Alright," Riley called out as he reappeared, stencil and picture in hand. "Where did you want it?"

"Right calf." I grinned, dropping my jacket on one of the chairs and rolled up the leg of my jeans. Thinking for a moment, I took off my sneaker and sock as well, making it a little easier for Riley and a bit more comfortable for me. It was going to be painful in the first place, I didn't need to be uncomfortable along with it.

Riley quickly pulled a pair of latex gloves on, broke open a new razor and shaved the back of my leg – another reason to take off my shoe and sock, having a wet sock from the solution he used was not something I wanted to experience – before he grabbed the stencil and pressed it to my skin.

"Check it out." He gestured towards the mirror on the wall and I turned, looking at the ink image of Jack Skellington holding his own head. I grinned at the image, looking at it as I twisted my leg from side to side. "What do you think?"

"Let's make it permanent." I turned back to him and he flattened out the chair. I hopped up, turning so I could lie on my stomach.

"Someone's practised at this." He chuckled, sitting on the chair and I could hear him setting up.

"You should see the one on his back." Bella put in, sitting on the sofa that was just by the chair I was on. She grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Maybe when I'm done." Riley chuckled and I rolled my eyes. The others had all sat down in the various chairs that were sporadically placed around the shop. "Ready?" He asked as he rubbed some of the gel onto my skin, testing the machine a couple of times.

"Yup." I replied popping the 'p' as I crossed my arms in front of me, resting my chin on them. Bella looked a little worried, so I pulled a face at her and she giggled, bowing her head and flicking her hair out of her eyes. I grinned at her, glad I had wiped the look off her face as Riley touched the needle to my skin.

I knew that the others were watching as Riley worked on my leg, working from the bottom of my calf up.

"What are your parents gonna think?" Rose asked, from where she was sitting just outside my line of sight, slightly behind me. I couldn't turn to look at her without moving my whole body and disrupting Riley so I shrugged.

"They're gonna hate it but oh well. I'm eighteen. Nothing they can do about it." Bella raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not expecting that answer.

"You're not worried they're gonna be mad?" She asked and I shrugged again.

"They probably will be but there's nothing they can do about it."

"So, how come the rest of you decided to tag along?" Riley asked, not stopping as he worked.

"Tag along?" Rose snorted, a very unladylike sound that made the rest of us laughed. "We were practically dragged here by the little pixie."

"Hey!" I glanced at Alice, who sat there with her hands on her hips, glaring at the blonde. "It wasn't like I dragged you here. You didn't have to come."

"Ha!" Rose shot back and I looked at Bella, who was grinning watching the exchange between her friends. "Like we had much of a choice. There was no way any of us were getting out of coming here when you set your mind to it."

Riley chuckled at the two of them and I shook my head before turning my head and resting my temple on my arms. I closed my eyes, smiling slightly at the familiar feeling of the needle passing over my skin. Most people I knew that had tattoos found it unbearably painful, even if they had many of them. I didn't think it was that painful. Yes, of course it hurt, I mean, in essence when you get a tattoo done, you're being stabbed with a needle thousands of times but it wasn't like it was excruciating to go through.

I kind of found it relaxing.

Did that make me weird?

Maybe.

I heard Jasper and Alice talking, as well as Rose and Riley. Bella was quiet as she sat next to me and I had a feeling that she was watching Riley work on my leg.

"Hey," she chuckled and I lifted my head, looking up at her. "You awake on there?" I nodded, smiling at her. "That's good. How can you be so relaxed?" I shrugged and she rolled her eyes. "Seriously, does it not hurt?"

"Of course it does." I smirked and she scowled at me. "I just don't find it _as_ painful as others do. Maybe I have a problem with the nerves that mean I don't feel pain like others do. I don't know. Either that or I just have a high pain threshold."

"Or maybe, you're just weird." She suggested and I chuckled.

"Or that."

We fell into an easy conversation as Riley continued to work on my tattoo. He had to stop once when Bella told me a story about Alice and Jasper – which judging from the looks on their faces, they didn't want me to know – and I started laughing so much my legs were moving as well. After calming down and apologising to Riley, he got back to work. I scowled at Bella and she smirked, not caring at all. She stood up again, walking over to the symbols on the wall, biting her lip.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, drawing the attention of the others as well. She glanced around, blushing gently.

"I want one." She said softly and Alice squealed, clapping her hands as she bounced in her seat. Jasper placed an arm around her waist, trying to calm her down.

"You going to get it done today?" I raised an eyebrow at Alice as she sat there, visibly excited by Bella's words.

"If you're serious, I've got some time when I'm done with Edward here." He tapped my leg with the back on his hand and I hissed slightly, turning to look at him with a glare. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He made a motion for me to turn back around so he could finish and I did.

I looked up at Bella to see her watching me closely. "If you want it done, it's up to you." I shrugged and she looked back at the board, a determined look on her face.

"I want it done." She said softly, her voice full of conviction. She looked at me, her eyes set and I knew that she had made up her mind. "If you've got time."

"Not a problem, girlie." Riley chuckled and I smiled at her as she sat down.

"You sure about this?" I asked, searching her face for any sign that she wasn't. "Remember, this isn't something you can get rid of if you don't like it anymore."

"I know." She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "What if you decide that you don't like Jack Skellington anymore?"

"Are you kidding?" I snorted and both of her eyebrows shot up. "Jack Skellington is and always will be awesome. There is no way that he will ever stop being my favourite character of all time."

"Fair enough." She sighed, grinning in spite of herself.

"Right," Riley placed the machine down, spraying and wiping down my leg, "you're all done." He rolled back and I pushed myself up, carefully swinging my legs off of the chair and getting up.

I walked over to the mirror, turning and looking at the fresh ink on my leg. I grinned, looking at it as I twisted my leg so I could see the whole thing.

"It's awesome, man." I grinned, walking back over to him and turning so he could put the usual cream or gel on it and bandage it up. I paid for the work and sat down next to Bella. She looked at me, looking slightly worried. "You sure you want it done?" She nodded, standing up and walking over towards the wall. Riley finished clearing away his station before walking over to where Bella was standing, looking at the symbol she was pointing at. He nodded, taking the sheet off the wall and walking over to his desk and drawing the symbol out onto a piece of paper and turning it into a stencil. He walked over, waving it to her.

"Where'd you want it?"

She stood up, biting her lip as she pulled up her dress. My eyes widened and I was glad that she was wearing leggings underneath. I glanced at Alice, who looked as surprised as me at where she wanted it. She pulled down her leggings slightly, pointing to a point just below her hip.

He crouched down, spraying her hip and placing the stencil on her skin. When he peeled it off he gestured towards the mirror and she looked at it before turning and showing it to the rest of us. She looked at me, as though my opinion mattered more than anyone else's. I wondered why.

Could Rose have been right in the restaurant?

I nodded, giving her a small smile. It was two cute Chinese characters. Seemed to suit her perfectly.

After Riley sterilised the chair that I'd just been on and laid some fresh towels down onto it, she climbed up on it, laying back, looking at me.

"You okay?" I asked quietly and she nodded, glancing down at Riley who was setting up his station again. She held her hand up by her head, palm up and I knew she was looking for reassurance. Getting your first tattoo could be nerve-wracking and scary so I placed my hand in hers, watching her face as he explained that he was going to do a small line before carrying on to see how she handled it.

I watched her eyes as he started and there was a slight wince as the needle touched her skin before he asked if she was alright. She nodded, not taking her eyes off of me. Apparently, she saw me as someone that could help her get through this. Even though it was a small tattoo, it was in a sensitive spot and she needed some kind of strength to get through it.

It seemed that that was me.

How the hell had that happened?

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**_Link to Edward's tattoo (take out the spaces, replace the dot's and imagine it on a man's calf) - www dot myspace dot com / artworx08 / photos / 50418560 / tagged_**


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